The Path to Salvation
by Chelsea Di Marco Macbeth
Summary: The first time they meet, she freezes him mid air with the palms of her hands, intrigued by his unique hair colour and piercing blue eyes. When they meet again the second time, he saves her from a fate worse than death. He smirks teasingly, lightening the mood. "What? You didn't see that coming?"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the marvel universe except for Emma and any other new characters I come up with. This does not strictly follow the timeline and plot of AOU so don't read if you don't like it. Otherwise, enjoy the story?:)**

 **Chapter One**

She awakens with a loud gasp, her dark eyes blinking furiously in the dark. She does not know what time it is but she guesses it must be early morning.

The dim lighting in addition to the dull windowless grey walls of the room make it hard for any form of sunlight to enter it but having lived here for five years already, Emma Ezekiel is used to the darkness and she relishes in it. She does not like to be seen and the darkness shrouds her from view. She likes it this way.

Stretching lazily, Emma makes a move to stand up and her messy dark hair falls in tangled knots behind her as she does so but she doesn't care about it, deeming her hair as a lost cause. After all, she has more pressing issues to worry about.

She grabs her pocket knife from underneath her pillow and stuffs it into the side of her left boot. She never went anywhere without it since her escape and she never intends to. However, just as Emma was about to walk towards her door, she is thrown to the floor due to the tremendous vibration all around her.

Is it an earthquake? She wonders but shakes off that theory immediately as she fumbles to stand up through the shaking motion. Sokovia has never had a earthquake before for as long as anyone could remember and Emma is pretty sure that it isn't happening today. No, this must be the work of something else. She didn't know what, but she was going to find out.

Rushing out of her cave of sorts at the edge of the city, Emma immediately notices the source of the vibration. It was coming from the abandoned castle in the middle of the woods. She turns her head and notices that only the forest and the boundary of the city seem to be affected by the vibration. It is odd that no one is running or screaming for their lives and it seems as though she is the only one who noticed it.

Furrowing her brow in confusion, she edges deeper into the forest. The castle has been thought to be haunted for years but Emma has never been a true believer of such tales. Determined to find out what lies within the castle, she walks on through the vibration.

However after merely walking a few steps, the vibrating ground ceases movement and the trees and bushes remain extremely still. It is as though nothing had happened and it seemed like Emma had made up the entire thing.

"Strange," muses Emma, undeterred as she skips along the forest towards the castle.

She hums a melodic tune and enjoys the peace and tranquility bestowed upon her. In spite of her seemingly carefree attitude, her heightened senses are still wary and watchful of any possible threat.

Because of this, she was able to narrowly miss being knocked over by a sudden gust of wind, or so she thought. Turning around and eyeing her surroundings carefully, Emma's ears listen out for the sound of something speedy again.

Just as she predicted, a flash of whirlwind heads towards her again but this time she is prepared because she merely reacts by placing both her palms out. Though her actions might not have been much, the impact of it was great.

It seems as though time has stopped because merely centimeters away from her hands is the frozen figure of a man about her age in mid air.

He has light coloured grey blue eyes and blonde hair so light that it seems silver or white. Emma also notices that he has a well toned physique and chiseled features, making him incredibly good looking and she is intrigued by him. His piercing blue eyes gaze into hers, searchingly and she almost blushes under the heat of his stare.

He is so beautiful, she thinks. And yet so deadly.

She schools her face into a calm and collected facade before she moves a step back as though the close proximity burned her.

Taking a deep breath in, she looks at the silver haired man in the eyes.

"I'm going to let you go now and I'm not going to hurt you but can you at the very least not attack me after I let you go?" asks Emma warily in English, enunciating every syllable slowly.

The man scrutinizes her face for a while before he gives an almost imperceivable nod of his head, agreeing to Emma's words. Slightly relieved, she takes a moment to search his face for any sign of threat but when she only catches emotions of distrust and curiosity in his facial expression, she lets her hands fall limply to her sides just as the silver haired man falls to the ground with a 'thump'.

As soon as he gets up to his feet, he is gone from her sight, leaving behind a greatly disappointed Emma in his place. She had hoped to talk to him seeing as he is gifted like she is but now that he is gone, she knows she'll never get a chance like that ever again.

Or so she thinks.

However, she is grateful that at he is a man of his word and did not attack her because deep down in her heart, she knows that if this was any other person, letting them go would have been the stupidest mistake she had ever made. But she has never been one for a normal circumstance, has she.

Heaving a loud sigh, Emma trudges on up the hills of the woods with thoughts of the speedy man's piercing grey blue eyes etched onto her mind.

The longer she walked, the darker the sky became but Emma only saw it as a challenge instead of a problem and she was never one to shy away from challenges. The weather got colder as well but her enhanced senses enabled her to survive harsh conditions much better than normal humans so she was able to push on for the last lap as the castle was merely five hundred meters away from where she was. Her enhanced vision gave her the ability to see further distances as well and she noticed the machinery surrounding the castle from where she was immediately.

From the looks of the machinery, she knows that they are deadly war weapons meant to guard the castle. This makes her hesitate momentarily in her endeavor and that is all the time the scarlet witch needs to make her move from a hidden part of the forest.

At the request of her twin brother, Wanda waves her hands and sends a light red mist towards Emma without her notice and the moment it reaches her, Emma's eyes glow red before she slumps down to the ground, unconscious.

Pietro appears beside Emma and lifts her in his arms, ready to take off but Wanda approaches him slowly.

"Why do you care so much about this girl?" asks Wanda apprehensively in Slovak.

Pietro looks up from the brunette in his arms and smiles gently at his twin.

"She is innocent, not like us. I-I...do not wish for Strucker to lay his hands on her and if she ventured into the castle, Hydra will surely find her," answers Pietro in a low voice.

He does not know why he cares about this girl when he does not even know her name. But something about her softens his heart and he does not wish for any harm to befall upon her.

Wanda sighs but nods her head at Pietro's vague explanation. He smiles at her and kisses the top of her head gently before taking a few steps away from his sister.

"I will be quick," he assures.

Wanda smiles but it does not reach her eyes. "Be safe," she whispers softly as he runs off in a flash, her heart missing the presence of her twin already.

The girl will remember today to be nothing but a vivid dream and that is what the twins, Pietro in particular, believe to be the best option she has.

In the cave next to the woods, Pietro carefully lays Emma down on her makeshift bed, pity clouding his eyes at the poor conditions she is living in. He moves to tuck her in and she stirs as he shifts the blanket over her but otherwise does not awaken. A deep emotion swells up in him at the sight of her innocent face sleeping and he can't keep the loud sigh for escaping his mouth, knowing that she will probably not remember him.

He gently traces the side of her face with his hands before he leans in and presses a soft kiss to her forehead.

As soon as his lips touch her forehead, he is gone, leaving no trace of his presence ever being there except for the wide smile Emma has on her face in her sleep.

 _Author's note:_

 _Hey guys, I'm back after a long hiatus from my stories but I couldn't resist posting this because I had major Pietro feels after watching AOU and I was so damn sad when he 'died'. Yes I refuse to believe in his death cause I mean marvel always has a way of bringing characters back to life so we'll see._

 _Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this! Please favourite/follow/review or drop me a message. It would mean the world to me_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Weeks fly by but not a day goes by whereby a pair of piercing blue eyes does not haunt Emma's dreams. She sees the same pair of beautiful eyes each night she goes to sleep but she can't remember where or when she saw them. Familiarity plagues her but frustration seeps in each time she comes up blank with a face to match those eyes. She knows she is not crazy but she does not know how to prove it.

It is a Tuesday evening when Emma is running away from the Sokovian Police because she was caught in the act for stealing grocery supplies. People dodge out of the way as she passes them quickly in the market place and she prays to whatever existing God for stealthy agile legs in a time like this because falling would lead to her capture and that option was unappealing to her.

Her legs never falter in her sprint and though she is tired, she pushes on with every inch of her energy, determined to lose the cops. Emma sees a window of opportunity and makes a sharp left turn into what she thought was a deserted alley and watches as multiple policemen fly by her hiding spot unaware of her presence. She holds her breath and leans heavily against the wall, and tries her best to remain quiet.

When she is certain they are gone, she slumps to the ground tiredly with her bag of loot in her hands. Only when she let her guard down did she hear multiple footsteps closing in and surrounding her.

She gasps and looks up to at least ten drunken men standing before her with lewd grins etched upon their faces.

Memories of her sexually abusive father and brother assault her mercilessly and she can't stop the feeling of helplessness and fear from seeping into her bones. Her feet stand rooted to the ground and her numb body shakes in terror, thinking she cannot escape them.

Her prominent fear makes her forget that she has a gift of gravity manipulation to defend herself and all she remembers is the scared little girl that she once was, laying on the floor of her bedroom helplessly waiting for a savior that never came as years of abuse were forced upon her.

To her, rape has and always will be worse than death. She thinks that death is painless, peaceful and kind even. And as she looks at the faces of the haggard men surrounding her, she gulps and breathes in deeply, knowing that there is no way she will survive this ordeal.

"N-no...P-please n-no..." whimpers Emma pitifully even though she knows no one will come to her rescue. No one ever did and she doubts that fact is going to change now. After all, she is nothing but an insignificant burden, as her father once said.

The first man touches her and tries to rip her clothes off but she fends him off with a weak push. She tries to do the same for the rest but she is outnumbered. It isn't long before she is pushed to the ground but as she shut her eyelids tightly, she hears the sound of something whizzing by followed by the sounds of groans of pain.

Then 'thumping' sounds can be heard and her eyes fly open to the view of her attackers laying unconsciously on the ground. Relief floods her but she immensely perplexed and distraught by the entire ordeal. Just when she thinks she is alone, she is swept off her feet by a gush of wind and her vision blurs as everything around her disappears.

Emma feels sick to her stomach when the fast movement finally ends but does not move until the nauseous feeling disappeared. She knows someone is holding her but what she sees the moment she opens her eyes makes her freeze in place.

Piercing blue eyes meet her warm chocolate brown ones and she stays still, blinking furiously to make sure she is not dreaming.

Those eyes...she dreamt of those eyes every night, Emma recalls as she reaches forward to touch the face of her savior. Her fingers graze the side of his face as she drinks up the sight of his silver hair and deep blue grey eyes.

He is like a magnet and she marvels at the sight of his beauty.

He is real, rejoices Emma internally as her lips curve upwards.

As though he could read her mind, he smirks at her and puts her down gently, helping her to stabilize herself but does not move away once she is able to support herself. If anything, he moves nearer to her until their chests are almost touching.

Blushing slightly, Emma whispers, "You saved me."

The silver haired man smirks at her teasingly, lightening the mood.

"What? You didn't see that coming?" replies her saviour in English with a thick Sokovian accent.

Too awestruck to say anything, Emma ducks her head and glances at the floor for a moment but he places his fingers on her chin and lifts her face up gently to look her in the eyes.

"Don't hide from me," he whispers intensely in a smooth velvety tone and she can't look away from his deep blue eyes.

"Your eyes," murmurs Emma softly, "Have we met before?"

"Perhaps," he replies, curious to know how much she remembered about their first encounter. "Why?"

As if she is snapped out of a trance, Emma takes a step back and sighs loudly, a hint of frustration in her body language.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," she says, refusing to answer his question.

"I promise I will not judge," assures the man quietly. And somehow, Emma believes him.

"I dream of you every night. Well, your eyes to be specific. I see them wherever I go but I come up blank when I try to put a face to them. But now, seeing you in person, I just feel like we've met before. Your presence is oddly comforting and it's warm, and familiar somehow, like family, or someone I love," she admits before flushing madly at the last part.

His face remains impassive and her stomach lurches at thought that maybe she blurted out a bit too much. Maybe he really believes she is nutters now.

"I can't believe I just said that, " blurts out Emma, mortified. She covers her face with both hands and backs away slowly only to be pulled to the man's chest in a gently embrace.

His voice is soothing as he replies, "You are right in your belief that we have met before. How do the Americans put it? We found ourselves in each other's company once, months ago."

"Once?" gasps Emma loudly as she looks up at his thoughtful gaze. "It feels like we've known each other longer than that."

"Yes, and it did not end well," admits her angel.

A thought makes its way into her mind and she blushes deeply before mumbling, "Did we have a one night stand?"

He furrows his brows in confusion and asks, "What is a one night stand?"

"Erm..." hesitates Emma before she flushes hotly and replies, "it's when two people have sex for one night and they never see each other again afterwards."

Upon hearing her answer, her angel throws his head back in laughter before he quickly dispels her misconception.

"No we did not engage in such relations, my dear. We met under much more dire circumstances," says the man.

Confusion pools in her eyes before she recalls that she didn't even know her savior's name.

Hesitantly, she asks, "Who are you again?"

Her silver haired companion smiles gently back at her and replies, "My name is Pietro, Pietro Maximoff."

"Pietro," repeats Emma slowly, testing the name on her tongue. It is exotic and unique, just like he is and she likes it.

Beaming widely, she gives him her name as well, "I'm Emma."

Like her, Pietro repeats her name loudly and smiles at the way it rolls off his tongue. It is beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Emma. It is absolutely perfect.

"A pleasure," he responds suavely never once taking his eyes off her.

Her dark chocolate curls match her warm chocolate brown eyes and the freckles dotting her face make her beauty stand out even more to him.

Emma is absolute perfection and they are standing so close to each other that it would be so easy to kiss her. All he had to do was lean forward.

However tempted he may be, Pietro restrained himself because he knew that unless he told her the absolute truth, there was no way for them to be together.

He does not want to hurt her and the guilt eats him away.

He pulls away from her and takes a step back.

"Where are you going?" asks Emma, worried at the sudden change in his facial expression.

"I-I...it is best if I leave you alone, I should not have come," says Pietro with a sad smile.

"You saved me, Pietro, there wasn't anything wrong with that," states Emma firmly as she moves forward to grab his hand into hers.

He looks away from her face, deep in thought.

"You being around me is dangerous. I should not have come," repeats Pietro once more. It is crushing to say this but he knows he has no choice. The more time Emma spends with him, the more risk she is in of being discovered by Strucker.

He did not want that.

"Please," pleads Emma. "We can make this work, whatever this is," she gestures between them, "All I know is that I feel strongly for you and I don't want you to walk away from me."

Pietro looks away from her and says emotionlessly, " I cannot."

This angers Emma and she stomps up to Pietro and glares at him until he looks her in the eyes. "If you really believed that you wouldn't still be here, Pietro. You want this as much as I do. We can make it work, but only if you want it to."

Hearing her words sent thrills down his spine and he could not stop the affection he felt at the sight of her fighting for him to stay.

Her words spoke the truth and for once, he did not hold back. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

Emma was surprised but responded fervently when she felt his warm lips moving against hers.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity until they were both out of breath. Gazing into Emma's eyes deeply, Pietro used his fingers to tuck a few stands of her mahogany hair behind her ear affectionately.

No words needed to be said between the two but Pietro did anyway.

"We'll make this work," he promises, repeating Emma's words back to her.

And she believes him.

 _Author's note:_

 _Hope you liked it! Please do leave a review to let me know what you think! Thanks for reading_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Pietro tells Emma everything. He tells her about how Stark's weaponry ruined their lives; about how he and Wanda voluntarily signed up to be a part of Strucker's experiments and how he asked his sister to make Emma forget her journey to the Hydra base and their first meeting. He also mentions Strucker and List's hunger and ruthlessness in their pursuit of creating enhanced individuals.

"If Strucker finds out about you, he will not hesitate to experiment on you," says Pietro through clenched teeth, with a pained expression on his face. "I've been through enough to know that they're not pleasant."

Emma's eyes widen in understanding immediately.

* * *

 _She had accidentally stumbled upon Pietro changing his shirt once a month ago and when she did; her eyes were drawn to the scars marring his exquisite chest instantly. Light but prominent pink lines were splayed out all over his skin, making Emma gasp in surprise. However, she did not get to examine them further because Pietro had tossed on his shirt quickly the moment he heard her gasp._

 _When Pietro turned around to face Emma, she did not realise that she had a look of horror etched upon her face and as such, Pietro had mistaken her shock for disgust because he ran out of her house the moment he saw her facial expression._

 _She shouted for him to come back but she was a second too late because all that was left was the sound of silence. Worry had plagued her the entire day and she could not help but break down in the middle of the room, cursing herself for ruining the only good thing in her life._

 _It wasn't until nightfall that she saw a dark silhouette leaning against the wall of her humble abode in the moonlight._

 _Startled, Emma froze._

 _But when she saw a flash of silver illuminated by the moonlight, she ran forward engulf the figure in a bone crushing hug._

 _"Thank god you're alright," murmured Emma with a tear stained face._

 _"You have been crying," whispered Pietro as he used his fingers to wipe the tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. "Are you that disgusted by what I look like?"_

 _Shocked by what Pietro was suggesting, Emma shook her head fervently._

 _"No!" refuted Emma loudly. "I was horrified by what they did to you but not in the way you think! I'm not disgusted at you but at them, Pietro! They're monsters! What they did to you is inhumane and I can't believe you had to go through that! I'm not disgusted by the way you look! Never, I swear! If anything, your scars make you more beautiful to me than ever because they're remnants of your strength, of your bravery."_

 _"You know men aren't beautiful right?" remarked Pietro wryly, smirking._

 _Emma sniffed and grimaced. "Of all the things I've said, you only caught the part where I mentioned your looks?"_

 _Upon hearing Emma's indignant response, Pietro's gaze softened and he placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead._

 _"I heard everything you said, my sweet Emma. But it was the price I had to pay to be one step closer to executing my revenge on Stark," admitted Pietro darkly as he spat out Stark's name. Then he closed his eyes and leaned forward to kiss Emma on the lips, murmuring, "I wonder everyday why you ever bother about me. You're the one who is beautiful on the inside and out. Somehow, you see some redeeming quality in me even though I don't deserve you. All these years, I only had Wanda. But now, I have you. And I'm going to be selfish about it because I'm not letting you go until you decide you don't want me anymore."_

 _Emma knew Pietro's words were as close to a declaration of love she would get for now and she appreciated his effort. Pietro was a man of few words and she knew it was hard for him to adjust to the fact that she cared for him because all he had was his twin for the past few years._

 _However, now that she was in his life. She was ready to spend the rest of it making sure he was never alone._

 _Boldly, Emma closed the minuscule gap between them and moved her lips languidly against Pietro's soft ones, only pulling away when she was out of breath._

 _"I'll always want you, Pietro. Always."_

* * *

 __Pietro's scars are living proof of his torture with Hydra and her heart clenches at the thought of the amount of pain he had to go through to get his super speed. They have both been through so much individually and now that they are together, they are finally healing.

Pietro is currently sitting on her makeshift bed and his back is to the wall while she lays comfortably perpendicular to him. Her head is on his lap and he is stroking the sides of her cheeks with his palms softly as he speaks to her, warning her and telling about all the horrors Hydra has done.

His voice is no louder than a murmur but the severity in his tone is clear. Hydra is merciless, that she knows. But Emma also knows that Pietro will do whatever he takes to keep her safe and that is all the assurance she needs.

"You're really strong," says Emma as she takes his hands with hers and starts playing with his fingers. "I can't even begin to fathom how hard it must've been to find out that you and Wanda were orphaned when moments earlier you were laughing your parents."

Pietro chuckles before lifting Emma's hand to his mouth and pressing a gentle kiss on it.

"You are the strong one, my love," insists Pietro sincerely as he gazes down at her with so much affection she could almost combust from the intensity in his eyes. "What those monsters did to you is unforgivable, and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel that way again."

Emma closes her eyes, her lashes resting against her skin, as she sighs loudly in remembrance of her past.

* * *

 _Emma Ezekiel was born in America with her older brother, Elias Ezekiel, to an American father and a Japanese-born American mother. Her parents, Arthur and Kanae Ezekiel had met while they were both on an exchange program in Sokovia. And because they were both foreigners here, they stuck to each other because they could communicate easily in English and as a result, they became good friends instantly._

 _Her father, Arthur Ezekiel, was a handsome blonde man with striking blue eyes while her mother, Kanae, had been a beautiful woman with dark hair and almond shaped black eyes. They fell in love with each other while schooling in Sokovia together and on the day they were due to return to America, Arthur proposed to Kanae at the Sokovian airport._

 _They married within a year and had Elias soon after._

 _Kanae fell pregnant with Emma two years after Elias was born and life couldn't be more perfect. All was well and there was no way anyone could've predicted how much damage the birth of her daughter would bring._

 _Emma's mother had been keeping a dark secret from her father throughout their relationship and marriage - for she was not human, but rather, a Vanir. There were nine realms in the universe and Emma's mother was from Vanaheim – the realm of the sister race of the Asgardians. And Kanae had kept that secret from her husband out of her fear of rejection, not knowing the actual repercussion was much worse than anyone could have predicted._ _  
_

 _When Emma had been born, she did not exhibit anything out of the ordinary, much like Elias. And that greatly relieved Kanae because she thought that since her husband's Midgardian gene was more dominant than the Vanirs', there was no need for her to reveal her heritage._

 _Unfortunately, she could not have been more wrong._

 _A few nights after Emma's birth, her father had been awoken by his baby daughter's loud shrieks and cries so he went to the nursery to pacify her, leaving his sleeping wife in bed. When he entered the nursery, what he saw in the room made him stop in his tracks._

 _The shrilling screams of his daughter had stopped because she was deeply entranced by the floating stuff toys above her. As her little hands moved, so did the levitating toys._

 _Arthur could not believe his eyes._

 _His daughter was one of them. A freak. A mutant._

 _He was so filled with rage that he lifted baby Emma roughly and barged into the master bedroom where his wife laid._

" _Whose daughter is this?" roared Arthur thunderously as he slammed the door open with his free hands before throwing Emma roughly onto the bed._

 _Kanae looked at her husband in fear for the first time as she reached forward to soothe her crying daughter, checking her all over to make sure that no permanent damage was left behind._

" _She's yours," whispered Kanae softly._

 _Arthur's blue eyes were murderous as he pinned his wife and daughter beneath him on the bed._

" _So you're a mutated freak then?" spat Arthur as he glared at his wife._

" _N-no, I'm not…" said Kanae as she tried to explain to her husband her heritage before she felt two bearish hands squeezing her neck tightly._

 _Her husband was strangling her but she did not resist, believing that he would realise his mistake and stop. Oh how wrong she was…_

 _As her life slowly faded away at the hands of her husband, the arms she was using to hold Emma fell limply to her sides, leaving behind a wriggling tear stained baby Emma._

" _I do not tolerate freaks in my household," said Arthur as he backed away from his dead wife and baby daughter._

 _Arthur went mad after he killed his wife but that did not stop him from fleeing the country to Sokovia with his children in tow. Raising his children, he was a fair father to Elias but a monster to Emma, because he could not stand the sight of her. Not only did Emma look very much like his deceased wife, she was a freak of nature. Whenever she showed accidental signs of anything out of the ordinary, Arthur would beat and torture her, much of his actions attributed from his bad acquired drinking habits since their move to Sokovia and his rage filled madness._

 _Her brother, Elias, had been raised by their father to torture her as well. What their father did to her, he followed. It was all he'd ever known._

 _On the outside, to their schools, to their neighbours, to the public, the Ezekiels was a mourning family of three. They had a perfect widowed father who did his best to raise his children and two beautiful siblings who were outstanding in their respective schools._

 _But on the inside, a horror story took place._

 _At first, the abuse had only been physical. And because she healed quickly, the torture she faced had been easy to hide. But as the years went on and Emma got older, the sexual assaults and eventual rape began. She was only ten during her first assault – too young to know the difference between right and wrong._

 _But when she reached the age of sixteen and had started bleeding in pain in the middle of school, she found out what she was going through was not normal._

 _She had miscarried, the doctors told her. But she was too disoriented to comprehend what they meant and by the time she was well rested to know, her father had already paid the doctors off to keep everything a secret from her and from the public, leaving her with no means to an answer._

 _Her father had expected Emma to remain just as obedient after her discharge and as a result, had left her alone to do her own things in the day time while he worked during her medical leave from school, not knowing that that was to be his greatest mistake._

 _Because while he was away, Emma used her father's laptop, which he left switched on as his first mistake, to google the meaning of the word 'miscarriage'. What she read and learnt changed her completely because after scrolling through pages of google, she realised that not only had she lost a life inside of her, but what her family had done to her was inhumane._

 _It was mid noon but she felt sick to her stomach._

 _Suddenly, the visions and dreams she had all made sense. Her father was the ultimate monster, for he had murdered her mother. Emma had witnessed the whole scene of her mother's death and she remembered every moment due to her Vanir enhancements but was too young to make any sense of it until she was much older, until now. Now that she knew the truth, her world was falling apart._

 _She didn't what to feel but all that she knew for certain was the fact that she had to leave. Distraught, Emma ran to her bedroom to grab a large haversack before she began stuffing clothing and all the necessities she needed to survive on her own fervently._

 _When she was done, she headed to the kitchen to grab a lighter, a pocket knife which she stuffed into her boot before she headed out towards the door._

 _This was it, she thought. She was going to escape this toxic environment._

 _Fear overwhelmed her but she was determined. Just as she stepped foot outside the door, Emma caught sight of her brother, Elias, running towards intending to stop her from leaving. Petrified, all she could do was shut her eyes tightly and raise her hands in a feeble attempt to ward him off. And fortunately, that was all she needed because when she reopened her eyes, her brother was laying on the ground, unconscious._

 _Her powers had kicked in during her desperate time of need and she seized the moment and ran._

 _She ran and ran and ran. And she never looked back._

* * *

Emma reopens her eyes with a jolt from Pietro but continues to rest quietly on his lap, only looking up occasionally to flash him a gentle smile.

He does not say anything either but she does not mind.

The silence is loud but not awkward because they fit together comfortably and it feels like they have known each other for years rather than months.

It has been exactly four months since that fateful day when Pietro rescued her and they have come a long way since then.

Their care and affection for each other border on love now but neither of them are ready to say the specific three words yet. However, being firm believers of the phrase 'actions speak louder than words'; the two lovers know that their feelings for each other are mutual so they don't hurry.

Instead, they choose to live in the , their peace is interrupted by the sound of an explosion and the ground rumbling beneath their feet.

Alarmed, Pietro carries Emma and stands up in a flash. He sets her down gently and takes her hand as they walk out of her cave of residence together to see the cause of the entire ruckus.

What they see stops them in their tracks. Explosions appear in different parts of the snow covered forest, each one detonating higher up the hills and further into the woods. The sound of aircrafts flying by alerts Emma and it worries her. So she looks up, hoping to get a glimpse of any individual pilot when she spots a familiar face cruising through the air.

It is Thor, the God of Thunder. His red cape and blonde hair are hard to miss and when Pietro spots him as well, they both know what it means.

The Avengers have arrived in Sokovia.

Realisation dawns upon the both of them and their heads turn sharply in the direction of Hydra's base – the castle upon the hills that Emma had once endeavoured to explore months ago.

"I have to go back," says Pietro with a frown marring his handsome face. "Wanda needs me."

"Let me come with you," insists Emma as she closes the distance between them to place her palm on his cheek lovingly. She is stretching quite a bit because she is merely 5'1 in height as opposed to his 6'2 height.

Pietro shakes his head solemnly and disagrees, "No, stay here please, my love. It is too dangerous. I do not wish for you to be hurt. Especially if Stark is here. He destroys everything in his path."

"Please," begs Emma. "I can take care of myself but I don't want you to get hurt either. I'll stay out of sight, I promise."

Pietro's eyes soften as he gazes into her deep brown eyes and just as he is about to open his mouth to reply, a large booming sound resonates throughout the forest on a magnitude never felt before so far, jolting the both of them to their senses at the severity of the situation they're in.

"I have to go," insists Pietro as his head whips around to spot a large ash cloud in the air no doubt caused by the explosion. "Promise me you'll stay here."

Emma hesitates and Pietro grips her wrist even tighter such that it was enough to get her attention but would not leave a mark at the same time.

"Promise me," demands Pietro in desperation.

At a loss for words, Emma only nods in reply before she is pulled into a passionate lip lock by her lover. However, the kiss ends too soon for Emma as Pietro pulls away from her with a solemn but yet contemplative expression etched onto his face.

As soon as she saw his indecisive expression, it was gone and his face was a calm facade once more. Suddenly, she feels two strong muscular arms wrap themselves around her in a tight embrace and she hears Pietro whisper something so softly into her ear that she would not have heard it if she was a normal human.

"I love you," he confesses sincerely.

And just when she is about to repeat the same sentence back to him, he is gone in a flash.

She hears the whizzing sound of his supersonic running speed and can't help but feel a pang in her heart at the absence of his presence.

Emma stands in the same spot for quite some time, internally debating with herself. A part of her wants to go to Hydra's base and make sure Pietro is alright but another part of her wants to heed her lovers request and stay where she is. She does not know what to do but when she remembers Pietro's confession to her, she finally makes up her mind and knows what she has to although she knows that Pietro is going to be mad at her, she is not willing to let Pietro go into battle not knowing how much he means to her, especially since such battles are so unpredictable.

Taking a deep breath, Emma uses her gravity manipulation power - as she calls it, to lighten her mass and lift her feet off the ground. Once she has full control of her gift, she flies off in the direction of the Hydra base where she knows Pietro will be, with one clear goal on her mind.

And that is to tell Pietro she loves him.

 _Author's note:_

 _Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter :) Please leave a feedback or follow or favourite hehe. It would mean the world to me! Thank you :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Emma reaches the same spot she was months ago and stares at the huge tanks and weapons armed and ready for fire. A strong sense of déjà vu overwhelms her but she does not get allow herself to get distracted because the mission on her mind is clear.

Cautiously, she walks to the side of the forest, and looks for a loophole or a way in. Frustration seeps into her bones when she realises there is none but her salvation comes in the form of the approaching Avengers closing in on the Hydra base.

Hawkeye takes an arrow from his bag and draws it, before he releases it towards the machinery behind her. Emma follows the direction his arrow travels in confusion before realisation dawns upon her a moment too late.

Clint Barton's arrows are never ordinary arrows and they detonate immediately as miniature bombs the moment they reach their intended target. The force which causes the tank to explode throws Emma back several feet into a tree trunk and feels wood splinters prickling into her back.

As she slumps to the ground, she groans in pain.

That is going to leave a bruise and some slight abrasions, but it doesn't matter to her because she knows that the Avengers will surely find her a way into the fortress, and also because she has been through much worse.

Emma stands up and levitates slowly, trailing behind the Avenger with arrows. He walks and she follows.

However, halfway through their journey, Clint stops and draws an arrow.

Thinking he must've caught on to someone following him, Emma flies to a pine tree and lands atop the tree branch right above Hawkeye in an attempt to remain out of his sight. However, her enhanced senses catch wind of a buzzing sound right before Hawkeye releases an arrow in the direction in which it came from.

The arrow hits nothing and it leaves Clint slightly apprehensive. But he does not waste any time in preparing another one. He aims his bow cautiously and makes a slow 360 degree turn to scan his surroundings.

Above him, Emma watches with weary eyes because she knows that Barton will never hit his intended target - especially if his target travels faster than the speed of sound.

Right on cue, a blue and silver trail whisks past Hawkeye right before he releases another unsuccessful shot at the enhanced – her boyfriend, Pietro Maximoff.

Another flash zooms past Hawkeye but this time it packs a punch because Clint finds himself sprawled out on the ground right after.

He looks up to see a smirking Pietro Maximoff strut pass him.

The silver haired man turns to face Clint and cocks an eyebrow in the process.

"You didn't see that coming?" taunts Pietro with a heavy Sokovian accent.

As soon as he speaks, he is gone again in a blur of silver and white, leaving behind a disgruntled Barton and a frustrated Emma.

"We have an enhanced in the field," says Steve's voice through Clint's earpiece, telling him what he already knows.

Emma lands gracefully on the snow covered floor a few metres to Clint's left and mentally berates herself for letting another opportunity slip by her. Pietro had been so close. But unfortunately, she had let herself get caught up in his presence and beauty that she forgot what she had set out to do. _He was right there._

Suddenly, a large machine gun in the distance opens fire loosely towards the unaware Avenger - Hawkeye, leaving him no room for any escape. Everything happens really quickly.

He shuts his eyes tightly, expecting to feel sharp pain shooting down his abdomen, but reopens them after seconds pass and he feels none.

She doesn't know what made her do it.

Maybe it was a reflex action, or maybe it was because deep down in her heart, Emma was a good person and she did not want anyone getting hurt. Both ways, the deed was done and there was no turning back now.

The bullets that were meant to hit Clint floats mid-air inches away from his face and he lets out a deep breath he didn't even realise he was holding. Getting to his feet, he notices a feminine figure in his peripheral vision and scrutinises her posture.

She seems to be in shock as her hands are held out in front of her with her palms facing outwards.

Clint double takes and his eyes widen in realisation at the reality of the girl saving him. _Who is she?_

Emma gasps when her eyes meet Barton's and her hands fall limply to her sides, releasing the bullets to the ground.

Time seems to stop as the reality of what she has just done starts to set in and neither of them stop staring at each other in curiosity and weariness. They eye each other up and down; unsure of what is going to happen next.

Are they allies now? Neither of them knew the answer.

However, their moment is broken by the loud noise of repetitive gun shooting from the earlier machine gun controlled by a Hydra soldier.

Clint ducks and rolls to the back of the tree next to Emma as she raises her hands to lift the Hydra soldier from his weapon and throws him to the side, knocking him unconscious. However, she is not done yet because she wrinkles her forehead in deep concentration and starts to use her gift to rip apart the machine gun, ensuring that it can no longer be used.

Finally, as the last piece of machinery falls to the ground, Emma relaxes slightly and turns to face the Avenger, not realising that they are practically next to each.

Clint opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by the echo of his name ringing out throughout the forest.

"Clint!" yells a familiar fiery redhead as she comes into view in a sprint. She has curves Emma would kill for and is remarkably beautiful but Emma knows that her looks are deceiving because she recognises that face immediately.

It is Natasha Romanov – the Black Widow. Her face creases with worry as she approaches them but schools her features into an emotionless mask and skids to a stop in front of them when she notices that Clint is not alone.

"Is everything alright?" asks Natasha, warily. Her question is directed at Clint but her eyes never leave Emma's figure as she assesses the petite brunette.

"Yeah…sort of," trails off Clint as his eyes flicker back and forth between Emma and his best friend, unsure of what else to say. This is an unforeseen turn of events but Natasha is unsatisfied with his answer.

"Who are you?" demands Natasha as her eyes bore into Emma's.

It takes Emma a few seconds to realise that Natasha is speaking to her before she replies with a blush.

"I'm a friend," she says in a perfect American accent, not wanting to reveal too much, before she finally decides to give her first name, "I'm Emma."

If either of the Avengers were startled by her accent, their faces did not show it. Instead, Clint chooses to ask her another careful question, "What are you doing here, Emma?"

Natasha watches the freckled face brunette's brows furrow in thought for an answer before she answers vaguely with a dazed faraway look in her eyes.

"I'm looking for someone," says Emma as she looks to the ground.

"She's enhanced," says Clint to Natasha. "Where her loyalties lie still remains questionable but she wasn't against us like the other one."

Emma's ears perk up at the mention of Pietro but she remains quiet, not bothering to correct Barton's assumption of her gifts. Instead, the wheels in her head are turning and she tries to think of the best possible solution to get out of the company of the Avengers and to Pietro.

Suddenly, Emma hears a few voices ring out through the earpieces of Natasha and Clint.

"I've secured the sceptre," reports Stark proudly. "Looks like our jobs are done for the day boys."

"Good work, Stark. Everyone else, report back to the jet and let's get Loki's sceptre back to New York," says Steve before he shuts off his communication device.

Emma stands there awkwardly and watches as Natasha and Clint stare at each other intently in what seemed to be a silent mental conversation with each other. After a few more excruciating minutes of wait for Emma, the two Avengers finally come to a consensus.

"You're coming with us," they say in unison.

And Emma knows that it is not a request, but a demand. So she follows them.

* * *

As Emma sits in the back of the Shield jet, her mind wanders to where Pietro is right now. Did he look for her in her cave? Was he alright? Countless questions plague her mind but she only cares about finding him.

Emma knows that the twins left the fortress way before Stark did because otherwise, Stark would not be alive right now. The twins abhor Stark and Emma knows it, but despite knowing about all the wrongdoings he has done, she cannot bring herself to hate him and it is simply because she doesn't know him.

Furthermore, Shield is probably her best bet in finding Pietro. Emma could have escaped earlier in the forest but she chose not to. Not only does Shield have the resources and means to find Pietro and Wanda, Emma knows for certain that the twins will seek them out again. So yes, staying with the Avengers was the best option for now. And regardless of whatever is to happen, Emma only hopes and prays for the safety of the Maximoffs'.

"So what's with the extra package in the back?" asks Tony sarcastically as he gestures to Emma who was sitting alone. "I wasn't aware it was buy one get one free day."

The Avengers are all gathered in the front in a circle around Clint who is piloting the jet. And of course, Tony has to be the first one to speak up.

"She's an enhanced," responds Clint.

"So you just thought to bring her along?" asks Steve sceptically, raising an eyebrow.

"What if she was hostile, huh?" demands Tony. "She could be working with those other freaky enhanced kids too."

"She saved my life," murmurs Clint as he looks straight ahead at the clear blue sky, only moving his hands to shift the control gear before he finally sets the aircraft to autopilot. Swivelling his chair around, Clint gets up to stand in front of the rest of the Avengers.

"Earlier when the other enhanced knocked me off my feet, a Hydra agent almost shot me with his machine tank. I kept waiting for the pain to come but I felt nothing. So I opened my eyes only to see the bullets meant to kill me hovering mid-air, a few inches away from me," says Clint. "She stopped them. Then she proceeded to get rid of the weapon and the Hydra agent like they were her enemies. Her loyalties still remain unknown but at least we know she isn't our enemy."

Bruce, who has been silent the whole time, finally speaks up.

"How much do you trust this girl?" asks Bruce with eyes full of concern and apprehension. "Like Tony said, she could be working with the others and her heroic act could merely be a ploy to gain our trust and access to Shield."

"I don't know," admits Clint. "But when she saved me earlier, she looked shocked by her own actions. It was like she didn't expect herself to. That's the only thing that's making me question her motives because apart from that, she didn't attack me or run away."

"This girl is different," says Thor as he furrows his brows in confusion.

Tony rolls his eyes and retorts, "I'm pretty sure we established that fact a long time ago, big guy."

Thor shakes his head. "No, I meant she doesn't feel like she is from Earth. The aura I am getting from her presence is partly Midgardian, yes. But it is infused with something else – something akin to Asgardians but not completely."

"So you're saying she's alien like you?" asks Tony.

"Perhaps," responds Thor uncertainly. "I cannot be sure because it is something I have never encountered before. But yet, it feels so familiar."

"Don't beat yourself up over this, Thor," says Natasha. "Once we get to Shield, we'll get the answers we need."

"Hopefully," mutters Tony as he sneaks another peak at the girl out of the corner of his eyes.

She seems to be staring into thin air but as soon as he glances at her, her head turns in his direction and her eyes meet his as if she feels his gaze on her.

Emma cocks her head to the side and studies Stark in real life. His eyebrows are raised in challenge and he exudes an arrogant persona, much like how the tabloids portray him to be, but he doesn't have the face of a killer. In fact, he looks worn and tired – the dark circles under his eyes are clear evidence of that. But Emma knows that he is more than he appears to be because he was the man behind the creations of the nuclear weapons and bombs dropped on Sokovia ten years ago, and she will never forget that.

Looking away from the Avengers, Emma leans against her seat and closes her eyes. The events that transpired earlier in the day have taken its toll on her, and she feels it. Her mind is laden with worry for her missing counterpart as exhaustion overrules her. Succumbing to the temptation of rest, Emma finally drifts off into a deep slumber as pleasant dreams start to fill in her mind.

* * *

The tension in the room can be cut with a knife. That is how severe the situation is.

Maria Hill is using Stark's computer screens to display the images and information on Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," begins Maria as she gestures to the screen showing two people heavily involved in a protest in Sokovia. "They're twins who signed up to be a part of Strucker's experiments. He has increased metabolism and increased thermal homeostasis. And she is capable of Neuroleptic interfacing, telekinesis and mental manipulation."

Everyone but Stark and Banner stare blankly at Maria Hill, even Emma is lost by the scientific terms she used.

Tony rolls his eyes in exasperation and steps up next to Maria. "He's fast and she's weird," he drawls lazily.

"Right," nods Steve. Then his gaze hardens, "I didn't know Strucker was capable of human enhancements."

"We don't know a lot of things, Cap," reminds Tony with a twitch of his lip. "A lot's changed in seventy years."

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" mutters Steve in annoyance but he receives no reply.

Instead, Maria's cold voice cuts through the air. "Why would anyone sign up for this? It's crazy."

Steve smiles wryly and says, "Right, what kind of crazy person would sign up to get experimented on by German scientists?" as everyone's gaze flickers to the super soldier's.

"That's different," insists Maria Hill. "We're not at war."

"They are," speaks up Emma for the first time since she arrived at the Avengers' tower as she gestures to the images of Pietro and Wanda onscreen, earning a few surprised and wary glances in her direction.

"I'm sorry, but who are you again?" demands Maria Hill as she just notices Emma's presence for the first time.

Emma frowns at her rude tone but replies slowly nonetheless, "I'm Emma."

"Why'd you bring the girl here?" asks Maria as she looks at the Avengers standing in the room.

"Excuse me, but this girl has a name," says Emma as she glares at Maria and the Avengers. "And I'm only here because Barton and Romanoff decided to drag me along."

"That's bullshit and you know it," retorts Tony as he walks up to right where Emma is standing. "You're enhanced so you could've escaped anytime you wanted to. But you didn't, which makes me question the real motive as to why you're here. So let's try that again. Why are you here, Miss Emma Ezekiel?" challenges Tony in a smug know-it-all attitude as he reveals a picture of a young adolescent Emma on the screen along with summarised information about her.

Emma's eyes widen but a part of her is not that surprised. After all, he is Tony Stark.

"You ran a background check on me?" demands Emma, pissed off.

Clint's surprised eyes turn to Stark as well. "When did this happen?"

"The moment you brought her on board, Legolas," answers Tony. "I was curious to know what kind of fucked up past made her volunteer for Strucker's experiments. And you know what I found? It turns out she didn't volunteer at all. Surprise, surprise."

Whatever reaction Tony had been hoping for, it certainly wasn't an angry captain.

"Well, Hydra isn't exactly known for providing people with choices, Stark! You didn't have to display all the terrible things Emma went through on screen so crassly!" berates Steve in a hard voice.

Tony's eyes widen and realisation dawns upon him that the rest of the team had misunderstood him so he quickly attempts to clear the misunderstanding.

"What I meant, Capsicle, is that little miss Emma over here was never with Hydra at all. There are absolutely no records of her ever being there. If she has any enhancements, they're not by Hydra. In fact in the little background check I ran on her, I found police reports in Sokovia about her made by her family, claiming she attacked them like she was possessed before she ran away. There's even one about the murder of her mother due to asphyxiation in San Francisco. I wonder who the murderer could be, seeing as only one member of her family has the gift of gravity manipulation?" says Tony with cold eyes filled with accusations. "It seems like our little free gift came along with much more faults than benefits than she's worth."

The room is so quiet that anyone can hear the sound of a pin dropping. The Avengers take a moment to digest what Stark just said in disbelief.

"Is that true?" asks Clint quietly in disappointment. He had so much hope for Emma.

By then, unexpected tears are already pooling in Emma's eyes at the reminder of her monstrous family. She can't believe the false tales those monsters told the police. _Oh the nerve of them. And the nerve of Stark, what right did he have to go sifting through her messed up past?_

Emma knows she has no choice but to reveal everything now. She blinks her tear filled eyes slowly and smiles sadly.

"No, well most of it isn't true. I'm not an enhanced, you're right," begins Emma as she swallows deeply, looking into Tony's dark eyes. "I'm actually Vanir. Well half to be exact."

"That's why your aura feels so familiar!" exclaims Thor in realisation. Upon seeing everyone else's confused expressions, he elaborates. "The Vanirs are a sister race to Asgardians and Asgard and Vanaheim has very close ties with each other. We are very similar in structure, except that Vanirs are more well known for their healing and magical capabilities rather than fighting. It is because of such race integration that Asgardians have learnt to wield magic as well."

"So you're half alien, go figure. But that doesn't explain the reports about you or why you're sticking around us," says Tony with arms folded across his chest.

Emma's eyes harden.

"If you had read the reports about my mother's death properly, you'd know that they're dated twenty years ago when I was just a baby. I couldn't have killed my mother, but I witnessed the entire process because of my Vanir heritage. My mother never told my father what she was and when he saw me levitating some stuff toys as a baby, he went ballistic," says Emma coldly. "In short, he hated mutants and anything inhuman so he murdered my mother and raised me in a sadistic household with him and my fucked up brother. When I was old enough to comprehend what they did to me wasn't normal, I packed my bags and left. My brother, Elias, tried to stop me but I threw him to the side in defence with my gift before I ran and never looked back. So get your facts right before you come and accuse me something untrue."

Natasha watches the pained emotion flicker across Emma's face but notices that she is holding back certain information. She does not push, not yet.

"Okay, so you had a rough life, we all did," patronizes Tony. "That still doesn't explain why you're here."

Emma takes a deep breath. "The same reason as any of you – to look for the twins."

"What do you want with them?" asks Bruce curiously.

Emma doesn't reply but the look on her face says it all.

"You know them personally," realises Steve. "You don't just know them, you care for them. It all makes sense now – why you were so tensed up on the Quinjet. I thought it was because you were uncomfortable with us but now I know it was because you were worried for them. You didn't know where they were or what happened to them."

Natasha cocks her head to the side and observes Emma's body language and understanding dawns upon her.

"You're romantically involved with the boy, Pietro," says Natasha. "That's why you were there when Clint encountered him."

Emma sighs deeply and her face is full of vulnerability.

"He told me loved me before he left to find Wanda. I didn't get the chance to say it back so I went to look for him," reveals Emma as her voice cracks. "I wasn't expecting myself to save Clint instead. I don't know what I was thinking."

Steve's heart clenches at the sight of Emma's sad form and he steps forward to place a gentle hand on the small of her back.

"You saved Barton because deep down inside, you're a good person, Emma. There's nothing wrong with that," assures Steve.

Emma manages a small smile at the first act of kindness she is shown today but it does not reach her eyes.

Nods of agreements from the Avengers in the room confirm Steve's statement but nobody in the room knows what to say so it is quiet once again.

Tony feels the guilt eating him away for his misjudgement of Emma but he does not apologise. That is not how a Stark works. Instead, he finally says something positive.

"We'll get him back, short stuff," he promises as he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

And Emma believes him because that is just the kind of person Emma is – forgiving.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _Hey guys! I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Thanks for reading and please leave a feedback if you can cause it really helps me improve and it motivates me to write update soon! If nothing else, till next time then!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Emma is standing in the corner of an empty room with plain white walls staring at her. Confusion quells up within her and she looks around slowly in caution.

Is she dreaming? This scenario seems so surreal but it certainly doesn't feel like a dream.

"Where am I?" wonders Emma aloud.

"Emma?" a velvety voice calls out in a deep accent, ringing its pronunciation with a slurred tone.

Turning around to face the source of the voice, Emma takes off in a sprint as her face breaks out into a huge smile.

"Pietro!" cries Emma excitedly as she engulfs the silver haired man in a bear crushing hug.

Pietro wraps his arms around her instantly and returns her embrace in silence, their bodies moulding together automatically as they stand still in the middle of the room.

"Am I dreaming?" breathes out Emma in disbelief as she brushes the chiselled cheekbones of her boyfriend gently with her fingers - the pads of her thumb trailing along the stubble on his jaw.

Pietro's deep blue eyes gaze into hers with deep affection and he laces his fingers with one of Emma's hands before lifting their intertwined hands up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of hers.

Her hand tingles at the spot where Pietro's lips just touched but it is still hard to comprehend the fact that he is here with her right now when the event that took place hours earlier are still fresh on her mind.

Pietro closes his eyes briefly and Emma watches as his eyelashes brush against his smooth skin before fluttering open to reveal those deep blue orbs she'd come to love so dearly.

"You are dreaming, yes," says Pietro in a serious tone, "but everything happening now is real."

"How?" wonders Emma, curious.

"Wanda," answers Pietro with a small smirk that does not reach his concern filled eyes. "When I returned to find you, you were gone. I knew Stark must have found you. I was worried. But my sister found a way for me to speak to you in dreams with her gift so I did not hesitate."

"Right," murmured Emma. "Wanda has the gift of mental manipulation."

"Yes," agrees Pietro as he gazes around the white room they are standing in. Emma follows his eyes and sees how the walls are beginning to flicker back and forth.

"What's going on?" asks Emma shakily as she grips Pietro's hands even tighter, afraid he would disappear right before her eyes.

Pietro's eyes harden. "We do not have much time left. You must be waking up in the real world."

How is that possible? It didn't feel like they spent more than a mere few minutes in this dream world. Why was it ending so soon?

"What - " begins Emma before she is cut off by Pietro placing a finger to her lips to interrupt her.

"Do you remember what I told you before I left this morning?"

Emma's eyes widen before she feels her face heat up slightly. "Yes."

Upon hearing her reply, Pietro leans forward to brush his lips against Emma's gently before pulling away too soon for her liking.

"My feelings have not changed, Emma. I love you," says Pietro softly as he strokes the sides of Emma's cheeks with his fingertips tenderly. "And I want you to be safe. Hold on for me, my love, I will come soon."

Emma flutters her eyelids in a daze as she smiles up at Pietro. Her breath catches in her throat as she marvels at the magnitude of his beauty.

"Oh, Pietro, I love you too," confesses Emma as she leans into Pietro's touch. "I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier but I do, I love you so much, much more than words can say."

"And you don't have to worry," she continues in assurance, " – the Avengers have been nothing but nice to me so far. Stark even said he'd help me find you."

Pietro chuckles darkly and his eyes harden.

"It is a lie, my love, you cannot trust them," refutes Pietro with a shake of his head. "They are using you to get to us. Once they find us, they will dispose of you because they no longer have use for you."

"I - " say Emma as she attempts to speak but Pietro does not let her and continues instead.

"You may think Stark is trying to help you but he does nothing but destroy," spits out Pietro angrily. "He is selfish and he only thinks of himself. He cannot be trusted."

After Pietro finishes speaking, Emma opens her mouth to reply but is pushed to the ground by a sudden jerk. Her eyes search the room and she finds the entire place engulfed in a huge tremor – the walls vibrating mercilessly.

Their joined hands break apart and Emma tries valiantly to get to her feet amongst the immense shakiness but fails miserably with a slump to the ground.

Pietro tries to do the same but his attempts only result in him getting pushed further and further away from Emma.

They both know what this means.

Emma is waking up in the real world.

And she can only stare helplessly in her dream at the dissipating view of her boyfriend mouthing the words 'I love you' to her as his figure slowly fades away. She makes out Pietro's final words of 'Don't trust Stark' before he is gone.

She is alone.

And she tries to shout but is thrown to the wall of the room by a tremendous force.

She hits the concrete with a sickening crack.

* * *

And her eyes fly open with a loud gasp.

Emma feels the cool surface of the metal floor around her and a sharp pain on the left side of her body in disorientation. Her eyes take time to adjust to the sudden bright light turning on in her surroundings before realization seeps in that she is on the floor of Stark's guest room.

Emma must have fallen off her bed while sleeping.

Her head is throbbing but she manages to climb back onto the soft mattress of her bed and lays there for a while, deep in thought.

She recalls the dream she had minutes before and knows that it is real. The after taste of Pietro's lips upon hers still lingers on her own and her hand is still tingling from where he kissed it.

Apprehension seeps into her bones as her memory of Pietro's last words to her flashes through her mind. Don't trust Stark, he said. Emma could tell he meant it and although she never judged people until she met them, she finds herself even more wary of Tony Stark.

An array of emotions floods her body but confusion dominates her senses.

Sighing loudly, Emma turns her head to her side in an attempt to distract herself from thoughts of Pietro and lifts up the clock on her bedside table up to look at the time.

11:34 pm

Emma has slept for 4 hours.

She rubs her eyes tiredly and swings her legs over the bed to get to her feet.

Initially, she stumbles but manages to grab hold of the headboard of her bed to steady herself. But when she takes her first step, a male automated voice echoes loudly throughout the room.

"Greetings, miss Ezekiel. I am Jarvis, Mr Stark's artificial intelligence. I was informed to let you know that the Avengers, along with Ms Cho and Ms Hill, are currently gathered in Mr Stark's private lounge on the sixtieth floor. And Mr Stark requests for you to join them once you have risen from your slumber," says the male voice pleasantly.

Emma blinks furiously a few times before realization dawns upon her. "Right, thanks erm - Jarvis, I'll get there as soon as I can but I could really use a shower right now. Do you, by any chance, know where I can borrow some clean clothes and towels to shower?"

"The outfit Ms Romanov has prepared for you is in the wardrobe to your right and the towel you need is on the rack in the bathroom, Ms Ezekiel. Shall I inform Mr Stark about your awakening?" requests Jarvis politely.

Emma hesitates a little before nodding her head. But when she receives no response, she mentally berates herself for forgetting who she is talking to. It is weird for her to talk to a technological system when she feels like she is talking to thin air. But Emma takes everything in her stride.

"Yes, please," says Emma again, awkwardly.

Jarvis doesn't respond immediately, making Emma believe that she did something wrong. However, her worries are dispelled a few seconds later when the familiar voice resonates throughout the room once more.

"Mr Stark wishes me to tell you, and I quote, 'to get your ass down in twenty minutes or risk facing the wrath of the big guy.' And he also advices you to look presentable," says Jarvis, earning a chuckle from Emma at Stark's crude words.

Knowing that Tony means business, Emma heads to the bathroom immediately with no time to waste.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Emma finds herself hesitating right outside the lift lobby of Stark's private lounge.

She is wearing a short black strapless dress that ends around mid-thigh and her brown hair flows down her back in natural waves with added volume after she had blown dry it.

Apart from this, her face is free of any make-up apart from a light coloured lip gloss. It is not because she didn't want to apply make-up but rather, the exact opposite – Emma doesn't know how to. Living on the run in Sokovia never gave her the need to dress up or doll up her face.

But now that she is in America, Emma is surrounded by countless beautiful women dressed to the nines. Shame overwhelms her at her cluelessness and she feels like a beached whale next to these other women.

It isn't long before Emma finds her thoughts spiralling down a dark path.

Why is Pietro with her when he can be with other girls – other prettier girls?

She feels very much out of place and this minor private event Stark invited her to reinforces this. If Natasha hadn't picked out an outfit for her to wear, Emma would probably have turned up in jeans because she knows next to nothing about attending social events.

As Emma observes the rest of the Avengers talking and drinking away merrily, she makes eye contact with Thor whose face breaks out into a big grin upon seeing her.

"Lady Emma!" hollers Thor loudly as he beckons her over with a friendly wave.

The other Avengers, who were all drinking and chatting merrily along with an Asian woman – whom Emma assumes is Helen Cho, and two tanned skin guys – whom she does not recognise, look up and glance in her direction.

Gulping, Emma inhales a deep breath and makes her way over to where they are seated in nervousness. Her stomach is in knots but she tries to keep a smooth face. She doesn't know why, but she finds herself yearning for their approval and this fact aggravates her.

Emma comes to a stop in front of the glass table and blushes when Tony lets out a wolf whistle.

"You clean up well, short stuff," compliments Tony as he gestures for her to sit next to Natasha.

"Thank you," murmurs Emma shyly as she fidgets slightly in her place next to the intimidating assassin.

"Relax, "says Natasha without looking at her as though she can read Emma's mind. "We don't bite tonight."

Unsure of what to respond, Emma is eternally grateful when Tony speaks up to introduce Sam Wilson, Rhodey and Helen Cho to her. She smiles politely at the two guys and Helen before relaxing her tense shoulders while leaning back into the sofa as conversation resumes around her.

Their act of normalcy warms her heart because as small as their actions might have been, she knows it is their way of letting her know she is accepted here. Also, much to her surprise, Natasha wordlessly hands her a champagne glass to which she accepts graciously with a small smile.

A peace offering, Emma realises. Maybe the Black Widow wasn't so bad after all.

As the night passes on, Emma is perfectly content with listening instead of contributing to the conversation. She prefers it like this. After all, Pietro did always say she was his best listening ear. And as time ticks by, the level of intoxication amongst the males grows and it isn't long before they are bantering about random things with Emma watching on in amusement.

Their current subject of argument is Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. And Emma listens attentively to their conversation in bewilderment, curious about an object intrinsic to her roots.

"It's a trick," insists Clint as he gestures to Thor's hammer resting on top of the glass table. "I call bullshit."

Thor chuckles deeply and shakes his head in disagreement. "Oh no, it's much more than that, my friend," says Thor seriously in his deep husky voice.

"He who shall ever be worthy shall haveth the power of Thor," mocks Clint in a phony lacklustre imitation of Thor, earning huge laughs from everyone else in the room. Even Emma, who was more than content to watch the Avengers converse, fails to hold back her giggle.

Clint rolls his eyes and reverts back to his usual tone of voice. "Whatever man, this is a trick."

Thor quirks his lips and smirks in amusement before he gestures towards the hammer.

"Please, be my guest," he says with a knowing grin etched on his face, no doubt a result from the certainty that none of his friends would ever be able to lift Mjolnir even by a mere inch.

Clint's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course," replies Thor encouragingly with a smirk. But Emma sees through Thor's words – she knows he doesn't believe Clint will be able to lift it. And she is intrigued to see what follows.

"Come on," hurries Tony with a smirk as he points to the hammer.

"This is going to be beautiful," chuckles Rhodey as Clint squares his chest and walks to the hammer.

As Clint wraps his fingers around Mjolnir, Tony can't hold back a sarcastic remark.

"Now, Clint," begins Tony with a smirk, "You've had a rough week, so we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up."

"Very funny," retorts a slightly intoxicated Clint.

"He's going to fail," murmurs Emma as she recalls the stories she read in Norse Mythology.

Natasha hears Emma's soft voice and glances at her out of the corner of her eye and gives her a small nod of agreement. "Let him have his fun," she says. "He knows it's not going to work."

"I've seen this before," says Clint, as though he is trying to convince himself more so than the others, right before he attempts to lift the hammer with determination in his eyes.

He pulls with all his might but the hammer doesn't budge. Not giving up just yet, Clint moves to another position and tries his best to get Mjolnir to move the slightest inch but all it does is strain his muscles.

Finally, Clint concedes defeat and backs away with a frown.

"I still don't know how you do this," he mutters to Thor.

Amusement clouds everyone's faces but nobody says a word until Tony speaks up.

Tony smirks. "Smell the silent judgement."

Rolling his eyes, Clint gestures towards Mjolnir with a raised brow in challenge. "Please Stark, by all means."

Puffing out his chest like a proud peacock, Tony saunters over to where Clint is standing as if he truly believes he will be able to lift the hammer from the table it rests upon. Tony is not one to back away from a challenge, even if he knows it is a lost cause. And Emma frowns at that fact.

Stark is too stubborn. And his pride hinders his thinking. She knows it will be his possible downfall, but she just doesn't know when. Little does she know how soon that time will come.

"Oh no," Maria Hill says, cringing slightly. "It's going to get ugly."

Tony waves her off. "Please, you know I'm not one to shrink away from an honest challenge."

"You're going to crash and burn, Stark," chides Clint, taking a jab at Tony's ego.

"Meh," retorts Tony. "It's physics."

As soon as Tony is done speaking, he loops the leather strap of Mjolnir onto his wrist and grasps the handle of it tightly as though the task ahead was going to be easy as pie.

"So if I lift it, do I get to rule all of Asgard?" clarifies Tony.

"Yes, of course," acquiesces Thor with a straight face.

Tony's eyes brighten up instantly as he replies, "I will be fair, but firmly cruel."

This earns a scoff from everyone in the room and Natasha rolls her eyes, knowing Tony will be anything but a fair leader. "Oh please," remarks Maria Hill. "I very much doubt it."

Instead of paying the other people in his lounge any attention, Tony focuses on the task at hand as he braces himself to lift the hammer.

"I will be reinstituting Prima Nocta," says Tony as his last words right before he attempts to lift Mjolnir.

As soon as he starts, he stops with a groan of pain and strain. Then he proceeds to lift the hammer again from different angles but to no avail. However he wrings or pulls the strap and handle, Mjolnir doesn't budge at all.

Finally, Tony lets go of the handle and looks at it with determination etched onto his face.

"I'll be right back," says Tony before he rushes out of the lounge for a moment.

Emma lifts a brow in curiosity at Tony's dissipating figure and glances at the others in question.

"Knowing Stark, he's probably gone to find something technical to help him pull this shit," says Clint as he takes a swig of his beer.

"Ooh Steve he said a bad language word!" exclaims Maria Hill teasingly, earning a frustrated growl from Captain America, who otherwise does not reply.

"Fifty bucks says he went to get his detachable Ironman arm," says Clint.

Natasha's lips quirk slightly as she sips her cocktail. "A hundred says he went to get two."

"You're on," agrees Clint as he leans his back against the sofa in wait for Tony.

Emma stays silent the whole time but it isn't awkward for her at all because she notices that Helen Cho and Bruce rarely speak up as well so she feels perfectly fine not doing so either.

The other people in the room make small talk until Tony returns with two items in his arms, earning a groan from Clint as he reaches into his wallet to take out two fifty dollar notes to hand to Natasha who pockets it calmly as though she expected to win. The others chuckle at the miserable look upon Clint's face but otherwise, turn their attention back to Tony who is now wearing a metal armour around his hand.

As hard as he tries, he fails to lift the hammer with his ironman arm. Out of breath but not giving up yet, Tony beckons Rhodey over and passes him the other detachable ironman arm to wear. Together, they pull with all their might.

"Are you even pulling?" asks Rhodey in frustration to Tony.

Tony rolls his eyes and retorts, "Are you on my team?"

Sighing loudly, Rhodey says, "Just to represent. Now, pull harder!"

Finally, after a valiant struggle, Tony finally concedes defeat with a scowl before taking a huge gulp of his drink.

"You're up, Cap!" hollers Sam as he grins at his super soldier friend who accepts their challenge graciously even though he has no expectation of lifting it.

Steve grimaces and when his eyes meet Emma's for a split second, she smiles encouragingly at him. If anyone was worthy enough to lift Thor's hammer, it was going to be Steve. That man is as good as a saint.

When Steve begins pulling the hammer, it moves by an inch, causing Thor's amused face to turn into one of worry and fear. However, Thor's frown doesn't last long because as soon as Steve was able to move the hammer, it dropped back to the table in a rigid position, indicating that he wasn't able to lift it.

Thor bursts out a jesting smile to cover his initial worry but Emma catches every detail of what just happened and she is slightly disappointed that Steve wasn't able to lift Mjonir.

After Steve's attempt, Bruce goes next and after a few minutes of pulling, he breaks out into a hysterical frenzy causing the other Avengers to tense up warily. As soon as he starts, he stops and breaks out laughing sheepishly.

"I just wanted to scare you guys," he admits, earning nervous laughs from the rest who had once upon a time faced his wrath but a genuine smile from Emma.

"Funny, big guy," says Tony sarcastically before his gaze zeroes in on Natasha.

"Oh no, that's not a question I need answered," says Natasha nonchalantly as she takes a sip from her glass.

"Well, you're no fun," pouts Tony before he looks to Helen Cho, Maria Hill and Sam Wilson who both, like Natasha, reject his offer.

"You're all party poopers," sulks Tony with a small scowl before his face lights up again upon looking at Emma. "What about you, Ems! Give it a go, yeah?"

Flushing under all the attention thrown at her, Emma shakes her head fervently. "I doubt I'll be able to lift it anyway."

"You never know. Give it a go, short stuff! Unless, of course, you're scared," taunts Tony like a small kid.

Emma sighs loudly and agrees before she wraps her slim delicate fingers around the cool metal handle of the hammer. Taking a deep breath, she pulls, expecting a heavy weight to prevent her from doing anything.

However, much to her surprise and the surprise of everyone else in the room, Emma manages to lift Mjolnir off the table as though it weighed nothing.

Jaws drop and Thor can only stare at Emma, agape. Too stunned to comprehend what just happened, Emma carefully places the hammer back on the glass table and takes a step away from it in shock.

"You're worthy?" murmurs Thor in disbelief.

"Can someone explain to me what the hell I just saw? Cause it sure as hell looks like Emma over there just lifted Thor's freaking hammer when no one else managed to," spits out Sam Wilson in awe.

"All difference to the man who won't be king, but it's rigged," says Tony as he regains his composure. "It has to be right? Only aliens can lift it – that must be it!"

"You bet your ass it is," agrees Clint even though his awestruck face says otherwise.

"Steve, he said a bad language word again!" interrupts Maria again with a small smirk and a calm façade in an attempt to break the tension

Groaning exasperatedly, Steve glowers at Tony. "Did you have to tell everyone about the bad language thing?"

Tony merely shrugs his shoulders in response and turns his attention back to Thor.

"The handle's imprinted right? Like a security code or something, whoever possesses a freaky alien fingerprint shall carry the power of Thor is the literal translation, I believe," says Tony in a matter-of-fact tone.

Thor grins at Emma before he walks over to pick up the hammer from where she left it before.

"Yes well, that is a very, very interesting theory, Stark. But I have a simpler one," smirks Thor in amusement as he twirls his hammer like a baton in his hand. "Other than Lady Emma, you're all not worthy."

As soon as the words escape Thor's mouth, protests from all the people in the lounge begin to ring out in argument when suddenly, a high pitched screech echoes painfully throughout the room, making everyone cringe in their seats.

When the sound finally goes away, Emma looks up to see a metal robot like figure limping towards them.

"How could you be worthy? You're all killers," the robot says.

"Stark," murmurs Steve warily.

"Jarvis," calls out Tony but no response comes.

"Sorry, I was asleep, I was a dream…" trails off the robot.

"Jarvis, reboot," commands Tony. "We've got a bug in the system."

The half broken metal being moves around and continues speaking, "There was a noise, and I was tangled…tangled in strings. I had to kill the other guy – he was a good guy."

By now, all the Avengers – including Emma and Sam, are standing up warily, uncertain of the metal being's intentions.

"You killed someone?" asks Steve with a deep frown.

"It was nothing personal," shrugs the robot. "But down in the real world, we're all face with ugly choices."

Thor glares at the contraption and gives it a hard look. "Who sent you?"

The robot does not reply but the sound of a recording fills the room.

" _I see a suit of armour around the world."_

Tony's eyes widen drastically at the sound of his own voice and realisation dawns upon him in horror.

"Ultron," murmurs Bruce.

"In the flesh," begins Ultron before he pauses and glances at himself. "Well, not yet. Not in this Christmas suit. But I'm ready."

As soon as he finished speaking, Emma notices the Avengers getting ready to fight – Thor clutches his hammer tightly while Steve and Bruce clench their fists. Clint begins to draw his bow while Natasha and Maria both take out their guns.

"I'm on a mission," announces Ultron.

"What mission?" asks Natasha, cautiously.

Emma clenches her fist tightly in fear. She knows things are going to go south.

Almost mockingly, Ultron raises his hands in a grand gesture before replying, "Peace of our time."

As soon as Ultron finishes speak, a couple of Ironman drones fly out of the concrete wall and begin attacking the people in the room.

In the blink of an eye, the superheroes are occupied. All of them are except for Emma.

None of the drones come on to her but she finds herself face to face with the monster Stark created.

"Emma Ezekiel, are you not?" says Ultron as he takes a step closer to her.

Emma stands her ground and glares at him firmly. "You tell me."

"No need to get feisty," defends Ultron with raised hands. "I am not your enemy."

Scoffing loudly, Emma gestures to the fight the Avengers are currently engaged in. "This suggests otherwise."

"Yet, you find yourself not helping them," states Ultron with tilt of his head knowingly. "Peculiar? I think not. I see a different light in you, Emma. You're seeing what I'm seeing right now. This is the path Stark set all of you on. Do you really want to be associated with that man?"

Apprehensive, Emma hesitates in her reply before she catches wind of a robot drone making its way towards an unaware Natasha. And her instincts step in. The air around her fizzles with the electricity she generated before all the robots except Ultron collapse onto the ground.

"That has never happened before," murmurs Emma, stunned.

She glances at her hands in bewilderment before a sudden thought hits her like a train wreck. Thor said Vanirs magical people, so could it be she had been wrong about her gifts the entire time? Perhaps she had the powers of sorcery rather than gravity manipulation alone the entire time.

Times like these made her wish her mother was still alive to tell her about her heritage. Nothing is more frustrating to Emma than not knowing information about her powers and her origin.

"That was dramatic," says Ultron as he paces around, drawing Emma back to reality.

She looks up to see Tony slumped down on the ground and the others breathing heavily as if they were out of breath.

"I'm sorry, I know you mean well," placates Ultron as he walks towards the Avengers. "It's just…you want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it isn't allowed to evolve?"

Along the way, Ultron picks up a drone and spits out, "These…these are all puppets. And you, Emma, you can be so much more. Join me and I will show you the way."

Everyone glances at Emma briefly but she doesn't respond. She doesn't want them to know that for a moment there, she actually considered turning against them.

"There is only one path to salvation – "says Ultron, " – the extinction of the Avengers."

Upon hearing his last words, an angered Thor hurls his hammer with all his might at Ultron, breaking him into many pieces which fall onto the ground.

* * *

 _I had strings but now, I'm free_

Those words haunt Emma tremendously and she barely takes in the conversation going on around her.

"All our work is gone, Ultron cleared it all and used the internet as an escape. He took the sceptre too," says Bruce in resignation.

"Ultron," murmurs Steve quietly.

"He's been in everything – files, surveillance. He probably knows more about us than we know about each other," announces Natasha as she folds her arms around her chest after looking through various computer screens.

"He's in our files, he's on the internet. What if he decides to enter something a little more exciting?" asks Rhodey in a hard voice as he adds pressure to his wounded arm.

"Nuclear codes," murmurs Maria Hill.

"Nuclear codes," repeats Rhodey in affirmation. "We need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" asks Maria. "He said he wanted us dead.

Steve interrupts sharply. "He didn't say he wanted us dead. He said he wanted us extinct."

Clint stands up and adds on, "He also said he killed somebody."

"Who?" asks Maria. "There wasn't anyone else in the building."

"Yes there was," says Tony as he flicks a control to reveal a scattered orange circular orb which looks destroyed. "Jarvis, that's who he killed."

Suddenly, Thor marches in and grips Tony by the front of his shirt angrily. "He's gone north. And he has the sceptre. Now we have to retrieve it again."

"I don't understand. You built this programme. Why is it trying to kill us?" asks Helen Cho in frustration.

Tony doesn't respond but his hysterical laughter jolts Emma into concentration at his next words.

"You think this is funny?" threatens Thor seriously. "None of this would have happened if you didn't play with something you didn't understand."

"Seriously?" chuckles Tony darkly. "Don't you understand why we need this?"

Nervous, Bruce gets up from the table and starts walking towards Tony. "Yeah, Tony, this might not be a good time for you to – "

Before Bruce is able to complete his sentence, Emma swings her legs over the table she has been sitting on the entire time and throws Tony to the side with her wave of her hand.

"This is your entire fault, Stark! Now, we have another threat we have to get rid of. Why couldn't you just leave Loki's sceptre alone?" rages Emma as she stalks towards Tony – who was slumped on the ground with wide eyes.

Thinking the brunette is going to hit him with another wave of her powers, Tony braces himself for the impact. But it never comes.

Instead, the look on Emma's face is heart breaking. She looks like she is on the verge of tears but she blinks them away with a sorrowful smile.

Disappointment is evident on her face and she murmurs quietly, "Pietro was right. You do destroy everything in your path."

Normally, Tony never cares what people say about him but somehow, Emma's words affect him much more than he shows on his face. Somewhere along the way, this girl wormed her way into his heart and now it aches from the disappointment he inflicted upon her.

Turning away from Tony and the Avengers, Emma walks towards the broken window where the drone escaped through with the sceptre.

"In time, I know I'll forgive you," says Emma. "But I don't know if I'll ever trust you ever again. And right now, I can't stay here. I'm sorry."

As soon as she finishes speaking, Emma hurls herself out of the window and uses her powers to fly off into the distance with one thought on her mind.

 _I was so stupid._

* * *

Author's note

Hey guys! Hope this chapter was worth the wait! I made it especially long to make up for my slow update :P Anyways thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you want cause I'd really appreciate the feedback. If nothing else, till next time then!


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey all, better late than never haha, but nevertheless, hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it :)_

Chapter Six

Emma doesn't know how long or how far she has been flying for. Countless trees and buildings pass by her view but she only finally comes to a stop in front of a crystal clear river.

She gazes into the water with a faraway look in her eyes. Her heart is heavy with emotion and a part of her wants to cry out in frustration and sadness.

However, she doesn't.

Instead, she stares at her neutral reflection in the water.

Dark circles are prominent under her sleep deprived eyes and her brown hair splays out all over her sides in an unruly and unkempt manner. Following Ultron's appearing act, Emma, like the rest of the Avengers, barely had time to recover or clean up at all.

She only had time to change out of her party dress into a simple white V-neck shirt and black jeans and what little make up she had on is now a smudged mess on her face.

She sighs heavily and sinks down onto the floor into a cross legged position.

And her mind drifts back to the time when she first met Wanda.

* * *

 _Emma is on her way back to her cave after a 'grocery' trip to the city when a slight noise to her left alerts her senses._

 _Alarm seeps it's way into her bones and Emma drops the bags of items she stole onto the floor in caution._

 _"Pietro? Is that you?" calls out Emma warily._

 _Her eyes narrow slightly._

 _But silence ensues._

 _"Who's there?" demands Emma calmly but coldly in Slovak this time._

 _When she receives no reply, she switches back to English in a final attempt to call out her boyfriend._

 _"Pietro, if this is your idea of a sick joke. It isn't funny."_

 _As soon as Emma finishes speaking, she catches wind of a swift movement out of her peripheral vision._

 _Her head jerks right._

 _And she spots it._

 _Right between two pine trees stands a peculiar female about her age._

 _Her hair is reddish-brown and her eyes are dark. Upon her slim figure adorns a red jacket and black top and bottoms._

 _Peculiar. Her features make her look so doll like that Emma would stare at her in envy under normal circumstances._

 _But this was anything but ordinary._

 _She looks vaguely familiar but Emma cannot place where she has seen this girl before._

 _And upon seeing the cold emotionless look upon the girl's face, Emma's distrust of this stranger skyrockets instantly._

 _"Who are you?" asks Emma with a raise of her brow._

 _But the girl does not reply._

 _"Can I help you?" asks Emma who decides to try a nicer approach in hopes of getting a response out of the girl._

 _The girl merely blinks at her._

 _Otherwise, she is so still that she seems like a life size doll and if it weren't for the gentle risings of her chest with every breath she takes, Emma would never mistaken her for a wax figure._

 _After staring at each other for a an indefinite amount of time, the girl's lips turn upwards into a small smirk._

 _"Yes, there is something you can help me with," says the mahogany-haired girl in a accented tone right before red mists emerge out of the palms of her hands and head towards Emma._

 _Shock permeates Emma's mind but fortunately, her sharp reflexes kick in instantaneously._

 _She propels herself up towards the sky and forwards towards the girl._

 _Emma grabs the dagger from her boot while mid air and lands in front of the witch instantly._

 _Before Wanda even had the time to blink, she finds a dagger pressed dangerously to her throat._

 _The cool metal stings her throat but she doesn't flinch. Instead, she stares into the eyes of her aggressor and smirks in amusement._

 _Emma sees her smirk and is torn between feeling annoyed and intrigued at the stranger._

 _Is she crazy?_

 _Firsts she attacks Emma out of no good reason and now she seems to be in delight even though she is at a total disadvantage._

 _Emma is at a loss for words but her eyes remain firm._

 _"Who are you?" asks Emma softly again with an underlying threat to her voice._

 _"Relax, I did not seek to harm you, I merely wanted to test your reaction," says the girl as her eyes flicker down towards the blade pressed against her neck before moving back up to look Emma in the eyes._

 _"Test me?" repeats Emma in confusion. "For what? Who are you?"_

 _Suddenly, the girl's eyes flashes red and Emma's dagger is swept out of the palms of her hands into the ground a few feet away._

 _"What the - " gasps Emma in surprise as her eyes follow the dagger._

 _"Forgive me for my...unorthodox methods," shrugs the brunette offhandedly as she brushes off a few twigs on her shoulders. "But I wanted to be certain."_

 _Emma's eyes flash furiously. "Certain of what? Is this your idea of fun? Cause it really isn't."_

 _The girl in front of her narrows her eyes marginally but schools her features into a neutral gaze again._

 _"Of course, where are my manners? I am Wanda." Then, she smirks. "But you will probably know me as Pietro's sister."_

 _"Wanda Maximoff?"_

 _"Do you know others?" retorts Wanda with a playful eye roll._

 _"No..." trails off Emma in confusion, "But I'm utterly perplexed as to why my boyfriend's sister just picked a fight with me."_

 _"To test your self defense," answers Wanda easily as though she did not just have a dagger pressed to her throat._

 _Emma wrinkles her forehead. "And the purpose of that was to...see my abilities?"_

 _"Silly girl," spits out Wanda, not spitefully, but out of frustration. "I had to be sure you could protect my brother in times of trouble."_

 _Emma frowns. "Pietro can take care of himself. He's fast."_

 _If steam is able to come out of Wanda's ears, it would have. Her face is so red that she looks like she is going to lash out at Emma at any moment._

 _But as quickly as it comes, her anger disappears into a impenetrable mask._

 _The witch sighs deeply._

 _"These are dark times, Emma Ezekiel. I sense something big - but I do not know what, is coming, and I do not feel good. I am worried, more so for Pietro than myself," says Wanda softly with her voice cracking at the mention of her brother._

 _"I don't understand. You're worried for Pietro - I get that, but you're speaking as though you're not going to be around in the future or something."_

 _Wanda chuckles darkly._

 _"Perhaps. I-I...cannot be sure," says Wanda as her face breaks out into a helpless defeated expression. "These few days, I have felt...off. I think 'forlorn' is the apt word to describe this feeling and I need your word to protect my brother should something happen to me."_

 _Emma blinks her eyes a few times to see if she was hearing correctly. The strong fearless girl Wanda presented herself to be was gone. In her place stands a scared and worried person._

 _Emma has never seen someone look so lost before._

 _"Of course," agrees Emma sincerely. "Pietro is someone very important to me. He - he helped me through a dark time and nothing I do will ever match that."_

 _Wanda's forlorn eyes lift to meet hers._

 _"I know. You love him," states Wanda with a sad smile. Just as Emma is about to deny the truth in Wanda's statement, Wanda continues, "You may not realize it yet - both of you, but your love for each other is something even a heartless man can see. And for that, I am eternally grateful and in your debt."_

 _"W-what?" stutters Emma with a faint blush on her face._

 _"You may not know this, but the first time you wandered into these woods, Pietro fell for you right away. I had never seen my brother so besotted with a female before - we only ever had each other, you see. But when he told me to make you forget, I knew. I knew that you two were meant to be, so I made your memory loss temporary."_

 _Emma's eyes widen in realization._

 _"You were to remember him, if and only if, your heart desired him upon your next meeting. You had to be ready to accept it - Pietro's love. I have always been a believer of fate, Emma. So when Pietro returned one day to tell me of how you remembered him, I knew you were the one for him. I knew that I could trust you with his life," explains Wanda seriously._

 _Emma chuckles nervously, "That's kind of a big thing to take in, Wanda. What you're essentially telling me is that Pietro and I were destined to be together? Do you even realize how crazy that sounds?"_

 _Wanda shakes her head with a calm expression. "I do not believe in destiny, only fate."_

 _"What's the difference? They both sound the same."_

 _"Destiny is something you cannot change. Fate, however, is something that is predetermined but not yet set in stone. It is entirely up to you to dictate what happens after that," says Wanda. "You and Pietro are fated but what happens after, relies upon your choice. This is why I am pleading with you to tell Pietro how you feel once you realize it, and to protect him with your life. You are the determinant of your fate."_

 _As the great extent of Wanda's words start to set in, Emma notices Wanda's eyes flash red._

 _As soon as the red flash dissipates, Wanda's expression is almost frantic._

 _"Promise me that you'll protect my brother with your life," demands Wanda desperately._

 _Emma's eyes widen as Wanda grips her wrist tightly. "Promise me, Emma. I have to go - they are searching for me, but I need your word."_

 _"I promise," agrees Emma firmly to ease the distraught witch's worry._

 _Emma has just enough time to see the relief which floods Wanda's face before a cloud of red smoke surrounds her._

 _Her vision blurs and she coughs at the fumes._

 _When her senses are clear of the smoke, she reopens her eyes to find that Wanda is gone._

* * *

Emma has only ever met Wanda that one time, but she remembers that experience vividly.

 _Protect Pietro with your life._ _  
_  
Sadness overwhelms her when she thinks of her boyfriend who is halfway across the world but she isn't ready to go begging to Stark for help yet.

Emma is still angry Stark meddled with Loki's scepter because now they have another problem out there in the world to fight. But it shouldn't be her problem. Stark should repair the damage he cause himself. After all, she isn't an avenger and finding the twins is her main priority.

Yet, why does she feel guilty?

Emma knows the other avengers aren't to blame for Ultron either but they should've known better than to trust Stark. Right?

With Stark's history, it shouldn't be surprising that he has set the world down another path of destruction.

After all, Pietro's lucid account of his sister and him being first hand recipients of Stark's inventions should be clear evidence that he does nothing but destroy.

But why does Emma feel uneasy - like she is wrong?

 _Not all who wander are lost. And not all who are lost wander_.

Emma's eyelids flutter tiredly as she remembers the exact phrase her mother once crooned to her as a story when she was a baby.

Her Vanir memory lets her recall a lot from the short time she had with her mother and this particular saying resonates extremely well with her right now.

And an epiphany hits her like lightning. Stark wandered but he wasn't lost. He only thought he was doing what he thought was right.

How can she blame him for his mistake? He, like everyone else, did not know what the outcome would be. But he was brave enough to try it anyway.

At what age did Emma lose her compassion? She wonders. Perhaps a year ago, she would've forgiven Stark right away. But now, she finds it hard to do the same.

She is empathetic towards him but it does not give him reprieve for his actions. She is critical and she finds herself battling with her emotions.

What should she do now?

Emma doesn't know.

She is exhausted but she is also slightly unhinged.

She aches to do something but her mind is too overwhelmed to comprehend anything.

Perhaps they are doomed down the blasphemy Stark set them on.

Perhaps nothing could save the world from its demise.

But surely every problem had a panacea to it.

 _Destiny and fate are not the same things._ _  
_  
Wanda's words ring loudly in her mind and suddenly, the answer is clear.

The beginning of the end does not mean it is the end of the beginning. Although Stark may have started something disastrous, there is still a chance to salvage it.

Pietro and Wanda are important to her; and if Emma helps stop Ultron, she is going to create a better world for Pietro.  
 _  
_ _Protect Pietro with your life._

Emma had promised.

And now she was doing it with the purpose of something additional. She was going to help other people.

She stands up with determination and lifts herself off the ground into the air with her destination in mind – _the path to salvation._

* * *

"Hey," murmurs Emma quietly as she steps into the view of all of the Avengers standing on the roof of Stark Tower getting ready to board the Quinjet.

They stare at her cautiously, too stunned to speak. They all thought she was never coming back.

"Hey," speaks up Steve in reply.

Emma looks down meekly in awkwardness. "Where are you guys heading to?"

"Wa – " begins Steve in reply but he is cut off by Natasha who interrupts coldly.

"That's classified," says Natasha.

"Oh."

Emma looks away, embarrassed. Her plan of helping the Avengers sounded so much better in her head. This was not what she had hoped for.

Steve shoots Natasha a warning look but is surprised to see a tiny smirk on the Assassin's face. Clearly, she is up to something.

And he catches on to her plan instantly.

"What Nat meant was that the mission is classified unless you're an Avenger," clarifies Steve.

Not catching onto his drift, Emma's face displays her hurt.

However, she's not deterred because she's come too far to turn back now.

"Could I somehow, join you on your mission?" pleads Emma.

Steve smiles warmly and is about to say yes when Natasha cuts him off once again.

"No," she says flatly.

However, Natasha continues on a second later with a small smile. "No we don't just want you to join us on the mission. We want you on our team."

"You do?" asks Emma in surprise.

"We do?" questions Tony stupidly.

Clint rolls his eyes and waves Stark off.

"Yes we do, I think you've proven yourself enough, Emma. You deserve to be a part of the Avengers," adds in Clint with a small grin.

"But I attacked Stark in a moment of anger!"

Natasha rolls her eyes at Emma's statement. "Please, all of us would've done the same to Stark if you hadn't. Besides, you didn't even harm a strand of hair on him. You put him in his place and honestly, I have to say what you did worked wonders because Tony was literally a changed man after that."

"Hey! I resent that statement! She threw me on my butt – that hurt!" refutes Tony indignantly in a playful tone.

"Well, it changed him during the time you were gone because he's back to his old self now," mutters Natasha.

"So you're not angry at me?"

"Of course not, young Emma," beams Thor in a deep tone. "We are most delighted for you to be a part of the Avengers!"

Emma's lips turn upwards into a smile.

Suddenly, a loud alarm sounds, drawing all of their attentions.

"That's just the signal that the Quinjet is ready for take-off," explains Tony.

"Then we better get going then," says Clint as he heads up the ramp to the Quinjet.

The others follow suit and Steve motions for Emma to walk beside him.

"Where exactly are we going?" asks Emma curiously.

"Wakanda," says Steve while glancing at Emma out of the corner of his eyes. But he does not divulge anything further.

Not satisfied, Emma presses. "So where is Wakanda and what's in Wakanda?"

Steve sighs and his face is solemn. "It's in South Africa and it's the home of the strongest metal on Earth."

Emma's eyes widen in realisation as she connects the dots for the pieces of information in her head.

She doesn't pry any further.

* * *

On the way to Wakanda, Emma sits quietly in a corner of the Quinjet after Steve fills her in on all the details and their plan of attack. She is pensive and she wonders if the twins will be there. If they see her working with the Avengers, she knows they will be greatly upset.

However, she hopes that she can convince them to leave Ultron. Her heart aches for Pietro and she can't help but think about Wanda's words about fate. If they are surely meant to be, then perhaps Pietro will understand why she is working with the Avengers.

She won't give up so soon.

"Hey," a deep voice breaks her train of thoughts and Emma is taken aback to see Tony standing in front of her.

"Listen, I know you're probably still angry and you said that you won't forgive me and all, but I – er," trails off Tony as he scratches the back of his neck nervously. " – I wanted to apologise. You're right about how I don't think things through and I am sorry about what I've done to accuse you for anything and for the creation of Ultron. For all it's worth, I know saying sorry doesn't solve anything but I just wanted you to know that I never intended to hurt you or anyone. And for what happened to your boyfriend's family, I never meant for that to happen either. Years ago, someone close to me sold my weapons to terrorists without my knowledge and though that's not an excuse, it's something I will deeply regret for as long as I shall live."

Emma's face softens at Tony's apology. She knows it must have taken a lot out of him to do so because he was as proud as a peacock. And she appreciates the small gesture.

"I didn't say I wouldn't forgive you forever, Tony. I said I wouldn't forgive you in that moment. But hearing you speak to me now has made me realise that I already have forgiven you. It's tiring for me to hold a grudge – I'm just not that kind of person and I've seen too much pain and suffering that comes with it to do the same. I've decided to let go of the past, Tony. You should too, don't blame yourself for Ultron. Look forward and help make the best out of this situation."

Tony blinks in astonishment. Here he is, admitting he was at fault and expecting all the resentment to be shown to him but yet, instead, he is blessed with forgiveness and gifted with such wise words from the victim of his wrongdoings.

He has never been religious but for once, _thank god for everything._

"Thank you," mutters Tony before he awkwardly pats Emma on her back. "You sure you're not secretly a hundred years old or something?"

Emma sticks out her tongue playfully. "What? Are you jealous of my wisdom, old man?"

"You wish, kid. You wish."

* * *

A familiar mechanical voice echoes throughout the metal ship, letting the Avengers know that they have found their target.

Natasha and Clint split up to gain a higher vantage point while the rest of them, save for Bruce, make their way as stealthily as they could to where Ultron was with Ulysses Klaw.

"Don't compare me with Stark!" shouts Ultron in utter repulsion. "He's a sickness!"

Groans of pain can be heard and the Avengers know it is time to move in.

Of course, Tony is always one for grand entrances.

"Aww junior, you're breaking your old man's heart."

Everyone in the room turns to face the Avengers and Emma recognises instantly that Ultron is clearly in no mood for games.

"If I have to," says Ultron coldly right before two familiar figures step up beside him.

Wanda and Pietro are here.

However, only the latter notices her presence.

Emma's heart leaps to her throat and her eyes water slightly at the sight of her lover.

Pietro's eyes meet hers instantly and she watches as the emotions reflected in his eyes changes quickly.

At first, he is in disbelief but then joy sets in. However, once Pietro realises who Emma is with, his eyes fill with betrayal and he averts his gaze away from her, breaking her heart.

"Nobody has to break anything," says Thor as he tries to diffuse the situation. It is clearly a lost cause because it makes Ultron smirk sardonically.

"Well clearly, you've never made an omelette."

"He beat me by one second," says Tony jokingly to Thor.

"Is it funny, Mr Stark?" speaks up an all too familiar voice to Emma.

She lets Pietro's deep accented voice wash over her as she closes her eyes before opening them in seriousness.

"It is what? Comfortable? Like old times?" continues Pietro coldly.

"This was never my life," says Tony in remorse. But Pietro doesn't believe him.

And neither does Wanda. She rolls her eyes. "Oh please."

"You two can still walk away from this," says Steve warningly.

Wanda smirks. "Oh, we will."

"I know you've suffered – "

"Captain America," spits out Ultron in disgust. "God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth but – "

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it," interrupts Thor, almost pleadingly.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

"He's not," speaks up Emma for the first time since she stepped aboard the ship. "You're the one who's confused."

"Emma?" speaks up Wanda, baffled. "What are you doing here?"

Pietro scoffs angrily but his eyes depict his sadness. "Isn't it obvious, sister? She's with them."

Wanda's eyes narrow and she glares daggers at the freckled face brunette.

"Pietro, I can explain – " begins Emma but she is cut off by Ultron.

"Ah Emma Ezekiel. We meet again. Have you perhaps reconsidered my offer? After all, your beloved is here with me. Are you certain you are on the right side?" asks Ultron in his attempt at a sympathetic voice but it just comes off as fake to Emma.

As Emma is hesitant to reply, Steve speaks up for her. "She can make her decisions just fine."

Sensing the brewing tension, Tony attempts to buy some time.

"Yeah, right. So moving on, what's the vibranium for?" asks Tony even though the answer is clear.

Upon hearing Tony's words, Ultron's robotic face breaks out into a malicious grin. "I'm glad you asked that because I want to take this time to explain my evil plan."

As soon as he finishes speaking, Ultron blasts Tony into the wall and all hell breaks loose because the Iron Legion appears out of nowhere and starts attacking the Avengers.

Once again, like the time when she was back in Stark tower, all the Avengers but Emma, are preoccupied in the fight.

She looks to the spot where Ultron, Pietro and Wanda once stood to find them all gone.

However, she hears a whizzing sound and feels the wind being knocked out of her as a force carries her at top speed. Everything blurs around her and when she regains a clear vision of her surroundings, Emma finds herself face to face with Pietro in an empty part of the ship.

His face is hard and Emma thinks he is going to attack her because he starts to walk towards her intimidatingly. However, she is wrong.

As soon as Pietro closes the distance between them, he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her into a deep kiss. Emma responds instantly and grips Pietro's jaw in her palms to pull him tighter against her, her lips moving passionately with his.

This kiss isn't like the ones they've shared before, it is desperate and their lips are moulding together so fervently it seems as though it is their last.

At this very moment, they aren't on opposing sides of the spectrum.

They're just Pietro and Emma – two people in love.

When they finally break apart, they are gasping and breathing heavily to repay their oxygen debt.

Pietro leans his forehead against Emma's and murmurs, "I love you. I can't bear to hurt you, no matter how much you've hurt me."

"Pietro – I love you too, and I can explain everything to you!"

"Shh," croons Pietro as he embraces Emma tightly, not wanting to let go. "There is time for that later."

"What do you mean?" asks Emma in confusion as she wrinkles her nose.

However, she does not get a chance to hear a reply because her vision fades to black as she slumps down into Pietro's arm.

Wanda stands in front of Pietro, behind Emma, with her eyes glowing red. She has knocked Emma unconscious once again.

"Does this feel familiar, brother?" asks Wanda sarcastically with her arms folded across her chest.

Pietro ignores Wanda's taunt and focuses on lifting Emma carefully into his arms with gentle shifts.

"Have you taken care of the Avengers?" asks Pietro.

"All but the archer and the big one. Shall I finish the job?"

Pietro shakes his head in disagreement. "Let us focus on escaping. Ultron got what he wants. We have no use here."

"Don't you mean you got what you want?" retorts Wanda as her eyes dart towards Emma's sleeping form in Pietro's arms.

He ignores her comment once again and motions for her to jump onto his back – which she does with a roll of her eyes.

And in a matter of milliseconds, the spot where Pietro, Emma and Wanda once stood, is now empty.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Till next time!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A loud 'thud' sound jostles Emma awake from her slumber.

Her eyelids flutter open groggily before her senses kick in sharply with her realising she's not in Wakanda anymore.

Rocky concrete walls and high rise ceilings surround her and it takes her mere seconds to figure out where she is.

She knows because she's been here before. Once a long time ago when she first met Pietro and another just recently – during the Avengers' raid for Loki's sceptre.

And she'll never forget it. It's the place where Pietro was given his powers and it's the place where he received the multiple scars gracing his back.

It's the Hydra Base.

The last thing Emma remembers happening on the ship in South Africa was her iintense reunion with Pietro and Wanda.

The twins must've brought her here, she realises.

Ultron…his endeavour to make himself a new body with the strongest metal on Earth…the Avengers…

Everything starts making its way to the forefront of her mind. Her priorities start to straighten and Emma knows she must get back to help the Avengers. It's the right thing to do.

As soon as she realises this, her eyes flit over to the numerous metal bars lining up the entrance of what seems to be her cell where she is currently in. Instinctively, she raises her palms to blast the bars away.

But nothing gives way.

Utterly perplexed, she tries gain.

Still nothing…

Not giving up just yet, she results to brute force instead. Taking a step back, she launches herself into a somersault and aims a sharp kick to the poles.

However, a repelling force knocks her ten feet backwards.

"You won't get out,"a perfectly crisp Slovakian accent she is all too familiar with speaks out.

Emma narrows her eyes. "Oh? And why's that?"

He says nothing.

"If you don't have a reason then I'm going to keep trying till I get myself out of this jail cell," proclaims Emma indignantly before she proceeds to throw powerful blasts of energy at the barrier with each attack seemingly absorbed by an invisible force.

"Stop Emma, you will tire yourself out." The silver-haired speedster gazes at her with a sad smile. "It is Vibranium. And what it is you call it… ah a force field made by the sceptre, mixed together. It is impenetrable from the inside."

Emma's mind pieces together his words quickly. "Impenetrable from the inside? Pietro, you have to get me out of here!"

He shakes his head slowly, his steely eyes hard. "I cannot do that."

Emma's heart sinks to her stomach. She gazes at Pietro with pleading eyes.

"Please Pietro," she begs. "Ultron doesn't want to save the world. He wants to destroy it."

Pietro is conflicted. He desperately wants to believe his girlfriend but she has spent enough time around the Avengers for him to question her sanity. He does not know what lies Stark has filled her with but he knows he is right.

"I do not what Ultron wishes to do. But he is not Stark."

"Ultron isn't who he claims to be," insists Emma. "Wanda can't see into his mind right? Think about it Pietro, he has to be hiding something. How can you really trust something that came out of Stark if he really does destroy everything in his path like you say he does?"

"Ultron is not Stark," repeats Pietro, faltering, with a lot less conviction in his tone.

Emma senses an opening to get through to him.

She walks up directly to where he is, the barrier being the only thing separating them.

"Ultron is a child of Tony. I'm a hundred percent sure he inherited other things besides his colours from Stark's ironman armour," says Emma matter-of-factly. "Think about it - the way Ultron speaks, you and Wanda both heard it back in Wakanda. Even Ulysses Klaw noticed it. His mannerisms, his attitude… they're all an extension of Stark's massive egoistic personality. Only worse. He's not going to save the world, Pietro. He's going take our shitty world and burn it to the ground."

His eyes widen. And he heaves a sigh in resignation.

"Say you are right, what makes you think Stark wants to save this world as well."

"Because he's changed," declares Emma firmly, determination evident in her eyes. "He may have made the weapons which hurt thousands, but he spent the past few years of his life doing his damn hardest to help as well. And although Ultron was a fucked up repercussion of his desire to help, his intent was honourable. He didn't mean for Ultron to hurt others. And I know, he's dealing with his guilt every single day. For a man who has everything, he's still struggling to find penance and self-acceptance. He's changed."

Pietro mulls over Emma's words seriously.

Moments of silence befall upon them before Pietro stalks away quietly, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty castle, getting lighter and softer with each step.

Emma sinks to the ground and pulls her knees to her chest in sadness.

She was certain she had gotten through to Pietro. Guess she doesn't know him as well as she thought.

Now that she knows she can't escape, she only prays the rest of the Avengers will manage to stop Ultron without her help.

No matter what decisions Wanda and Pietro have made thus far were under misconceptions and misguidance, and Emma will never hate them for that. She only hopes Pietro and Wanda will see the truth one day.

Her love for Pietro is boundless and she can't fault him for doing what he thinks is best, albeit the wrong choices. His unyielding loyalty to stick by what he believes in is admirable. But Emma can't help the small semblance of hurt wounding her heart.

She thought he would have more faith in her.

Her heart clenches tightly. And she lays curled up in a tiny ball for an indefinite amount of time.

* * *

At some point, tears had begun streaming down her face and she lay there thinking about her life.

Footsteps can be heard reverberating throughout her jail cell and Emma hastily wipes the tear tracks off her face when Pietro appears in front of her view again.

He frowns. "You have been crying."

She doesn't respond and hugs her knees closer to her chest, hiding her face in between them.

Suddenly, she hears a faint buzzing sound and seconds later, two muscular arms wrap themselves around her torso, embracing her.

"Shhhh…" hushes Pietro soothingly as he buries his face into her hair.

Too long he has been away from her for he misses the comfort she brings to him by being in his arms.

Emma only responds by crying harder and her arms fall limply to her sides.

She doesn't even know why she is crying, but the wrecking sobs escaping her can't seem to stop.

Pietro places a gentle kiss on her forehead and she vaguely registers what is happening before it occurs.

Air howls in her ears and she shuts her eyes tightly to prevent a whiplash.

She feels something soft beneath her and reopens her eyes to look.

Gone are the sterile cold walls of the cell she was in. Now, she is in a room with a bed and a table lamp on the bedside table beside it.

Her eyes drift back to Pietro's face.

H doesn't speak but he gently lifts her up like she weighs nothing and tucks her under the blanket.

She is confused by his actions.

 _I need to escape_ , she thinks. But is also too tired to say anything

Instead, she feels her eyelids closing unwittingly.

Sleep finds her easily and her mind barely registers a warm body pressing into her back before she loses consciousness.

Dreamless thoughts invade her mind.

* * *

Sunlight penetrates through the tiny cracks within the confines of the room and arouses Emma from her slumber.

She feels two familiar arms around her waist and can't help but bask in the comfort and familiarity of this feeling.

It almost resembles the old times in her old makeshift home.

Almost.

It seems like such a long time ago.

She misses the simplicity of it.

When the sound of a deep yawn fills the room, Emma knows Pietro is waking up as well.

She manoeuvres her body to face him and feels her heart skip a beat at the sight of him.

A mop of unruly silver hair rests upon his head – a personification of what one would describe as sex hair, and long dark lashes flutter across his creasing cheeks. He has light stubble across his defined jaw line but it only serves to accentuate his masculinity, making Emma marvel in wonder at how he was hers.

The days of fights between Ultron and the Avengers have taken its toll on Pietro – a sight clearly illustrated by the darkened circles beneath his eyes and addition wrinkles marring his forehead, but he has never looked more appealing to her than before.

She knows he is having an internal battle with himself and she is overwhelmed with emotion at how much he cares about her.

Ultron clearly did not ask him to bring her to his bed, but here she was.

Emma's eyes soften and she raises a hand to lightly graze the side of Pietro's cheek. Her love is pure and unadulterated, but if she is forced to choose a side, the answer is clear to her.

"A coin for your thoughts?" murmurs a half awake Pietro incoherently as he wraps his arms around Emma.

Giggling, Emma corrects, "Penny. It's a penny for your thoughts."

Pietro rolls his eyes playfully. "Same thing. Americans and their slang. My purpose is to communicate, not to replicate their words perfectly."

She leans into his touch and breathes out, "It's grammar, my dear."

Pietro does not reply. Instead, he moves his face forward and catches Emma's lips with his own.

The electricity around them fizzles and all of a sudden, the tension in the air is palpable.

The kiss is different this time, more passionate, more forceful. Perhaps the need is arising from the desire to forget everything around or maybe, they just missed each other after being away from so long. Regardless, they are pressing against each other like it will be their last time together.

Pietro places his hands firmly on Emma's back and gently flips her such that she is laying beneath him. He kneels between her legs and continues to pepper her face with loving kisses.

His hands tenderly touch her waist – her shirt having been ridden up halfway, exposing her flat stomach, and he nips her ear gently, moving on to kiss her neck and slowly working his way downwards.

It is almost too much for Emma to handle. The heat from his touches and the burn she feels from his stubble grazing her exposed skin makes her want to combust on the spot.

It is electrifying and the worst part is, she doesn't want him to stop.

They have never gone this far before, most of their affections merely stopping at kisses and hugs before.

She is eagerly anticipating Pietro's next move and her back arches slightly when she feels his hot breath on the skin of her belly button. The tingling sensation arouses her and it makes her toes curl.

Pietro's hooded eyes meet hers and he whispers, "Let me see you."

Emma knows exactly what he means and makes a quick move to remove her top, leaving her in a black cotton bra. She arches her back and bites her lip as Pietro slowly unclasps it, pulling it way from her.

She blushes under his scrutiny of her body but has her insecurities eased by Pietro's lips upon hers, engaging her in a searing kiss.

"So beautiful," he murmurs as palms her breasts gently, his lips only leaving hers to shower her body with equal affection.

As he slowly kisses and touches her all over, he never showed the slightest disappointment in what he found. Instead, Emma could feel his growing excitement against her leg, and it gave her more confidence, lightly the fire of her own arousal.

Pietro brushes her hair off her face with longing. She can see he is trying very hard to resist his sexual desires and she feels warm all over, knowing he wants her that way.

Tugging at his shirt, Emma murmurs, "I want to see you too."

In a flash, Pietro's top is removed and as he leans forward to kiss her, Emma's tiny palm rests on his defined chest, stopping him.

Perplexed, Pietro looks into her eyes questioningly.

"All of you," emphasises Emma through hooded lids. She has seen Pietro half naked before and she knows she is ready for more.

Understanding dawns upon him and he is left in his skin tight boxers, with his manhood straining against it.

Emma sits up and struggles to remove the jeans she is wearing when Pietro wraps his arms around hers, causing her to pause momentarily.

She feels his breath on her neck.

"Let me," he says.

Emma nods dumbly and stands as Pietro quickly pulls her skinny jeans off her, leaving her in her black cotton panties.

She sees Pietro lick his lips and courage surges through her.

"Lay back," she says as she gently pushes Pietro backwards to lean on his bed. When he lies down, she straddles his thighs.

"What are you planning to do, my love?" asks Pietro breathlessly in a thick accent.

Emma places gentle kisses all over Pietro's chest and gently strokes the scars on his back.

When she reaches his hips, Emma looks up at Pietro and smiles.

"Loving you," replies Emma as she reaches her hand into his boxers to extract his erection.

Pietro hisses in reply as he feels her delicate fingers touching him. She palms him gently and is enamoured with the size of him. He is big but she knows he will fit in her. She only hopes it will not hurt. The pre-existing form of intimacy Emma had was horrifying – her father raping her, it was defilement. But she knows Pietro will not be like that.

Pietro senses her hesitation and leans down to scoop her into his arms.

"We do not have to do this," he assures. Pietro knows of Emma's dark past and will not pressure her into anything. His concern for her overpowers his sexual desire to be sated.

Emma matters more than his needs.

Emma looks up into his eyes and smiles softly, touched by his love for her.

"I want to," assures Emma before she pushes him to lay back down. Before he can protest, he feels her hot mouth taking him in and he can't help the groans escaping him.

He hardened even more, if that was possible. And after a few more licks and sucks from Emma, feels his balls tightening.

Pietro pulls Emma up and kisses her deeply.

"Not like this," says Pietro. He wants to finish inside her. But before that, he wants to shower her with his love. "It's your turn."

Emma bites her lip and nods.

With her consent, Pietro quickly removes his boxers and Emma's cotton underwear.

He gently lowers his mouth onto the apex of her thighs and licks his way towards his destination. Pietro sucks on her clit and licks her lower lips, enjoying the taste of her and the moans of pleasure she is making.

Feeling her getting wetter, Pietro inserts a finger into her slowly, lifting his eyes to see if she is in any pain or if she is suffering from any sort of memory of her dad. When he sees none of it, he slowly moves his fingers in and out of her, while licking her fervently.

Emma arches her back and clutches the sheets around her tightly as the coil building up in her stomach. Her hand unwittingly moves to tug Pietro's hair when she feels him insert another finger into her.

She thought she would have felt some sort of semblance of pain or reminder of her painful past, but she didn't. This experience was all Pietro.

She thought about nothing but him.

The unfamiliar pleasure is building up in her and she feels herself aching with need to be joined with Pietro.

Without hesitation, Emma sits up to grab Pietro towards her.

"Take me," she says as she pulls him in for a searing hot kiss.

"Are you sure?" he asks with eyes full of concern.

"Yes," murmurs Emma as she places her hands firmly on his back. "Are you?"

"For you? Always," promises Pietro.

Without another word, Pietro swiftly enters her, earning moans of satisfaction from both of them.

She is so warm, tight and wet. And he is tempted to move, but he knows Emma needs time to adjust, so he forces himself to stay still.

"More," Emma finally murmurs.

And that is all Pietro needs to start thrusting in and out of her, engulfing her with his scent.

He kisses her softly and leans down to suck gently on her breasts as he moves within her with Emma reciprocating via the movement of her hips to meet his thrusts.

All that can be heard throughout the room is their moans of pleasure and the sound of their bodies slick with sweat moving against each other throughout their lovemaking.

It is beautiful. And despite the circumstances they are under, neither of them regret anything.

For now, they are living in the moment.

They are not on opposing sides for now.

For now, they are just Pietro and Emma.

* * *

 _Author's note_

 _Hope you liked this chapter! Leave some feedback on what you'd like to happen next or how you feel about this chapter_ _Thank you for reading! Till next time._


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey guys, sorry for the long absence, I moved to another country and spent the last five months adjusting to my new international school. Anyway, hope ya'll haven't given up on this story yet because I'm back with an extra-long chapter just for you ;)_

 _Here's a_ _brief summary_ _of the past 7 chapters in case my absence made your memory a lil rusty._

 _Pietro and Emma met when she was wandering into the Sokovian castle where the hydra base was and when she froze him mid-air with her 'defying gravity' powers, he felt a connection to her._

 _Eventually, to keep her safe, Pietro made Wanda wipe Emma's memory but Emma always saw his eyes in her dreams. Pietro saved her from being raped months later and their relationship blossomed. Then one day, the avengers arrived and Pietro had to go help out._

 _Emma ran after him to tell him she loved him when she saw Clint almost get shot by a machine tank. She saved Clint and they took her back to Avengers tower in New York. Stark eventually made Ultron and Emma joined them on the mission to Wakanda but was kidnapped by Pietro and Wanda instead. Pietro and Emma basically reconciled and had a live in the moment scene together so chapter 7 left off with them sleeping together._

 _Hope that gives you the gist of the story so far. Enjoy the next chapter!_

* * *

Chapter Eight

Emma's eyes shoot open when a brief ray of sunlight hits her face. She gasps loudly as memories of the night before invade her mind.

She remembers everything.

Every single vivid detail of their bodies moving together in harmony…

Every whisper of declaration and sweet words exchanged between them…

The look upon Pietro's face when they both came down from their high…

She remembers all of it.

And a blush appears on her face when she recalls the wanton noises she made in response to her lover's touch. Never in Emma's wildest dream had she ever imagined sex to be this passionate…this loving.

All through her abusive childhood, sex was about power and subjugation. She abhorred it.

But with Pietro, it was different. What her father and brother did to her…that was rape. She knows the difference now.

With Pietro, it was lovemaking.

Oh how she loved him so…he had been so tender and kind with her, wanting to make sure the experience was every bit enjoyable for her as it had been for him. Her heart soared when she relived that memory and she wondered how she could harbour such deep feelings for one person alone.

How was it possible to love him beyond comprehension?

They aren't even on the same sides now…

That thought brought a frown to her face and Emma turned her sad gaze to the body lying beside hers.

What once was an unconscious form, now resided a half seated form of the silver haired speedster.

Pietro woke up the same time Emma's eyes shot open. He wanted to ask her if she was okay but one glance at her dazed eyes told him that her mind was faraway in deep thought and he knew better than to disturb her thinking.

Instead, he took the time to observe her, or one could call it admiration.

Emma's dishevelled hair held evidence of their prior lovemaking the night before and it only served to speed up the speedster's heart rate.

She was so beautiful. The way her lashes touched her cheeks each time she blinked… the way her plump lips pursed together when she is in deep thought…the way each freckle dotted her flawless skin (no doubt a product of her Japanese Vanir heritage)... everything came together perfectly to form the fine specimen Emma was.

Pietro wondered how he got so lucky.

Of course, he was not a shallow person. He loves Emma for more than her beauty. He loves her for her kindness, her selflessness, her open-mindedness…all the qualities in her personality that makes her unique, he loves her for that.

But above all that, Pietro loves her for the fact that she tries. Even at the beginning when he prepared to walk away from her, Emma pleaded repeatedly with him to give their relationship a shot.

When he needed someone to talk to, she was always there for him…comforting him…loving him.

Even when he was in a bad mood, Emma did her best to be by his side.

She has so much faith in him, Pietro realises.

Even when he chose to help Ultron, Emma had faith that he would do the right thing eventually. She had faith in him.

She believed in him much more than he deserved, and he did not want to let her down.

Stark has been and will always be an abomination to him, but Emma sees the best in people. If she believes that Stark has some form of redeeming quality within him, Pietro has decided to trust her, however reluctant he may be.

As his eyes regain focus on his surroundings, Emma's eyes snap over to meet his. A deep red blush appears on her rose tinged cheeks and Pietro can't help but smirk devilishly at that.

"Sleep well, my love?" asks Pietro tenderly as he cups her cheek softly in his palm.

Emma closes her eyes and sighs contently.

"I did," murmurs Emma. "You really wore me out last night, but I very much enjoyed it."

"Well, I cannot complain," says Pietro as his ego gains a boost. Then, he smirks. "If I recall correctly, it is a two way road, yes?"

Amusement dances in Emma's eyes as she chuckles softly. "Street, Pietro. The expression is 'two way street', not 'two way road.'"

Pietro jokingly rolls his eyes.

"My purpose is to communicate, not to replicate their words perfectly, my sweet," says Pietro, repeating the same words he said to Emma the night before.

Upon hearing his familiar reply, Emma gives him the same retort from yesterday.

"It's grammar, my dear," chides Emma softly as she leans closer to Pietro.

Their faces are merely inches apart now and this time, it is Emma who makes the first move.

She kisses Pietro passionately, using her tongue to lick his bottom lip, requesting for more access. Knowing what she wants, Pietro parts his lips and allows her access. Together, their tongues move in unison at a frenzied pace as Emma uses the momentum from their passionate lip lock to push Pietro onto his back on the bed.

Her hands roam all over Pietro's chest, making him moan in response. As they pull apart to breathe, Emma uses the time to pepper gentle kisses all over Pietro's body.

She lovingly kisses the scars on his abdomen, conveying to him her full acceptance of him, regardless of his involvement with Hydra. As she moves down his body, her kisses leave a blazing trail of heat behind.

Pietro feels blood rushing downwards and hisses when he feels Emma's hands grazing the sides of his firm manhood. Right when he thinks he is in bliss, Emma takes him to heaven when she takes his manhood into her mouth, sucking softly on it.

God she is so wet and warm… and everywhere…

Pietro lets out a loud moan but sits up to halt her ministrations.

As much as he is enjoying the moment, Pietro does not want her to feel like she has to please him. He leans forwards and kisses her gently on the lips.

"You don't have to do this," assures Pietro, though his throbbing dick says otherwise.

The hurt on Emma's face disappears when she realises the real reason behind Pietro stopping her.

Her heart swells with more love for him. His hard manhood straining against her palm clearly indicates how much he wants her to continue, but he was selfless enough to consider her feelings. And this made her want to please him even more – to show him how much she appreciated him.

Her dark eyes meet his blue ones.

"I want to," murmurs Emma right as she takes him back into her mouth before he can even respond.

All of Pietro's self-control flies out the window as soon as Emma continues working him with her mouth.

Pietro feels the coil in his stomach tightening and knows that his release is coming. However, as he is on the verge on exploding, his rational thoughts take over and he gently eases Emma up towards him.

"I want to finish inside you," he says with desire hooded eyes. Emma smiles softly and kisses him until she is breathless.

Carefully manoeuvring her body above him, Emma grabs his hardened dick in her hands and places it at her entrance. She eases herself onto him slowly and moans at the contact of being joined as one with her lover.

She moves up and down his manhood tentatively as Pietro's face scrunches up with a look in between pleasure and pain.

"More please," hisses Pietro as he grabs hold of Emma's waist to give her extra support. Pietro is so ready to reach his peak but he does not want to blow his load before Emma receives her own release.

As Emma quickens her pace and bounces up and down Pietro's length more quickly, she feels her walls tighten around him and knows that she is reaching her climax.

"I'm coming," says Emma as she moves even faster.

"Come with me, my love," whispers Pietro lovingly as he uses one hand to rub circles on Emma's clit, hoping to bring forth her release.

As soon as he does that, Emma sees stars and her walls tighten around him. Feeling Emma's orgasm was all Pietro needed to let go, releasing his seed inside of her.

As the room filled with sounds of their laboured breathing, Pietro moves Emma carefully onto the space next to him, their hearts full of euphoria and satisfaction.

Letting Emma take charge of their lovemaking was definitely something she needed to experience. All her life, she was the one dominated. But now, Pietro was glad that he could show her that sex was a two way street and that she was never ever going to be forced into doing anything she did not want to do ever again.

At least, not as long as he was around.

Wrapping his arms tightly around Emma's waist, Pietro lets his eyes drift shut with a contented smile etched onto his face.

* * *

A loud slam of the door jolts Emma and Pietro from their slumber. As Emma's eyes look to the source of the noise, she notices a familiar redhead standing by it with her arms folded across her chest.

"Wanda," breathes out Emma with a small smile right before she realised that she was still naked. Great, what a sight she must be right now. To be caught in bed with her boyfriend by her boyfriend's sister was definitely not something on her bucket list.

Not affronted by the scene in front of her, Wanda turns to directly address her twin.

"Get up, Piet. Ultron wants to go to Korea and he wants Emma to come along, now that she is with you," orders Wanda before she stalks away from their room, closing the door with her magic in the process.

Confused, Emma turns to Pietro.

"What did she mean by 'now that she is with you'?" asks Emma quietly.

Pietro sighs loudly. "It was the only way I could get you out of your cell. I told Ultron I convinced you to join us in destroying Stark."

"What!"

Pietro hushes Emma. "I only wanted to set you free."

Hurt by this revelation, Emma confronts Pietro, "So you didn't set me free because you believed and trusted my words? But because you want me to join your side?"

Rubbing his temple, Pietro shakes his head and whispers lowly, "No, my love, I believe you. I want to help you, if it means trusting the Avengers, then I will. But I cannot do that while Wanda is still on Ultron's side and if you had still been in your cell."

Searching for any traces of lies in Pietro's eyes and finding none, Emma nods her head slowly.

"So you want me to play along until you convince Wanda to leave?" clarifies Emma.

Pietro nods. "Yes, once I do that. We will go find the Avengers. I promise."

Exhaling sharply, Emma murmurs, "Okay. I don't like this but I know we don't have any other options. Thank you, Pietro. Thank you for believing me. For doing what is right."

Pietro gazes into her eyes tenderly and presses a chaste kiss on her forehead. "No, thank you for having faith in me, my love. I love you."

"Me too," smiles Emma softly.

Everything would be alright, she could feel it.

After they land in Seoul Korea, Emma, Pietro and Wanda find themselves in the science lab of Helen Cho. It is clear to Emma that Helen Cho has been brainwashed by Loki's sceptre but she bites her tongue from saying anything that will blow her cover.

Right now, Helen is preparing to help transfer Ultron into his new body made of Vibranium, and Emma prays that the Avengers will come before the transference is complete.

"I can read him…"murmurs Wanda in awe, snapping Emma out of her thoughts.

"Who?" asks Emma, perplexed.

"Ultron," replies Wanda. "He is…dreaming."

Even Pietro looks confused.

Helen steps in and speaks in a matter of fact tone, "I wouldn't call it dreaming. It's Ultron's base consciousness – his informational noise. Soon – "

"How soon?" interrupts Ultron right before he adds on semi apologetically. "I don't mean to be pushy."

"We're imprinting a physical brain, there are no shortcuts," replies Helen as she fiddles around the machinery.

Emma notices Wanda step closer to the machine and sees her crumple to the ground seconds later. Of course, Pietro catches her in time.

Concerned, Emma places a hand on the small of Wanda's back, steadying her.

"How could you?" spits out Wanda in a horrified tone, making Emma curious about what Wanda had just seen.

"How could I what?" asks Ultron nonchalantly.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers…make a better world…"

"It will be better," states Ultron firmly.

Wanda's eyes blaze with anger. "How? When everyone is dead?"

Emma sees where this conversation is going. She now knows that whatever Wanda has seen in Ultron's head has made her realise that she has been fighting on the wrong side all along.

"It's not – the human race will have every opportunity to improve," assures Ultron.

Holding his sister tightly, Pietro speaks up. "And if they don't?"

"Ask Noah."

"You're a madman," spits out Emma finally, having stayed in the shadows too long.

Pietro carefully places his other arm around his girlfriend's waist, keeping her close to him.

"There were over a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs! When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone in it. And believe me, he's winding up. We have to evolve. There is no room for the weak," explains Ultron as he turns around to work on the machines in Helen's science lab.

Emma's eyes catch wind of a red mist coming out of Wanda's fingers towards Helen Cho as Pietro distracts Ultron further.

"And who decides who's weak?" asks Pietro warily.

"Life," says Ultron as he chuckles humourlessly. "Life always decides."

Pietro hugs Wanda and Emma close to him as Ultron's head tilts sideways.

"We have company - the Quinjet. We have to move now," orders Ultron.

"That's not a problem," answers a mind control free Helen Cho as she starts to halt the transference sequence.

Ultron follows Helen's movements and catches on to the fact that she is no longer brainwashed. As soon as he notices, he blasts her with a beam of energy.

When Ultron does that, Pietro feels threatened and grabs the two most important women in his life and speeds as fast as he can out of the god damn forsaken lab.

Emma can vaguely hear Ultron calling after them but tunes him out and focuses on not throwing up. Every time Pietro carries her, she gets a slight whiplash.

After what couldn't have been more than a few minutes, Emma feels her feet touch the ground.

Opening her eyes, she looks at the twins.

Wanda seems extremely distraught while Pietro gives Emma a weak smile.

"How could we have helped him?" cries out Wanda.

"You didn't know," comforts Emma. "But now you do, now you have the chance to make this right. We have to help make this right."

Wanda nods slightly but snaps out of her dazed state when Pietro whispers to his sister in Sokovian.

Feeling that this is a private moment between siblings, Emma turns away.

After a short moment, Emma feels a tap on her shoulders and meets the gaze of her boyfriend who holds out a hand for her.

"Let's go do the right thing," says Pietro as Wanda smiles reassuringly at Emma.

Giving both of them a grin, Emma takes Pietro's hand.

Together, the trio make their way to help the Avengers. To stop Ultron.

* * *

 _Author's note_

 _Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this! Please favourite/follow/review or drop me a message. It would mean the world to me :)_


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